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CHRIST AND THE LITTLE CHILDREN 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE 
LIFE OF CHRIST 



BY 



HELEN BROWN HOYT 



WITH ONE HUNDRED AND TH/RTY-SEVEiY ILLUSTRATIONS 




'» »»* 



J i J 



W. A. WILDE COMPANY 

BOSTON AND CHICAGO 



THE LIBRARY <»F 

CONGRESS, 
Two CoPi£8 Receiver 

MAY. 3 1902 

Copyright entry 

0LA88 Cu XXa No. 

OOPY a 






Copyright, igo2, 
By W. a. Wilde Company. 

All rights reserved. 



A Child's Story of the Life of Christ. 



CONTENTS 



The Birth of the Christ . , . . ^ . , . . . 9 

The Boyhood of the Christ . . ... „ „ . „ . ,18 

The Ministry of the Christ .....„„„.. 24 

The Opening of the Ministry. ........ 24 

The Beginning of the Work in Galilee 35 

The Great Physician 45 

The Xew Kingdom and its Laws 59 

The Second Preaching Tour . 68 

Two Wonderful Days 79 

The Last Ministry in Galilee 90 

The Christ in Retirement 104 

Autumn Visits to Jerusalem and Perea 119 

Wonderful Teachings 144 

The Last Journey to Jerusalem 158 

The Last Week of the Christ's Earthly Life 171 

The Death and Burial of the Christ 215 

The Resurrection and Ascension of the Christ 220 

The Resurrection 220 

The Ascended Christ 230 



PREFACE 

The story of the life of Christ has been written time and 
time again, yet it is one that is ever fresh and attractive. 
Little children love to hear it if it is told in language which 
their minds are able to grasp, and the aim of this book has 
been to tell the story so simply that the youngest child can 
enjoy it because he can understand it. 

The account recorded in the four gospels has been closely 
followed, and the order of events is that accepted by the greatest 
thinkers and writers. Many of the laws and customs of the 
times have been introduced to make the text more clear ; and, 
that the lessons taught may be more attractive and better 
remembered, the book is abundantly illustrated. 

The writer does not claim originality, but, knowing that all 
children love to read or hear a good story, she has tried to tell 
this old, old story in a way that will make them love it and 
absorb into their own beings the elements of true living which 
only the life and teachings of the Christ can give. 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHEIST 



>>«<<: 



INTRODUCTION 



Far away over the sea, on the continent of Asia, is the land 
of Palestine, which is also called the Holy Land. If you look 
for it on the map you will find that it is a very small country. 
Yet, though it is so small, such great things have happened 
there that all the world knows of Palestine. This story will tell 
you why it is called the Holy Land, and why so many people 
love it. 

Very many years ago there lived in Palestine a man by the 
name of Jacob, who was the son of Isaac, and the grandson of 
Abraham. He had twelve sons, each of whom was the head of a 
large family called a tribe. The twelve tribes together made a 
nation which was known either as the Jews, or as the Children 
of Israel. Israel was another name given to Jacob after he was 
a man. 

The Jews were better than any other people living at that 
time, just because they worshipped God. There were a good 
many people then, as there are now, who did not know about the 
true God in heaven. They made images, or idols, of wood or 
stone, which they called gods. They prayed to these idols, asking 
them to take care of them. They even thanked these gods 
for giving them life and health, and so many beautiful things. 
They were heathen, for that is what we call those who pray to 
idols. 



2 INTRODUCTION 

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were not heathen ; they knew 
and loved the true God, and taught their children to do the 
same. But the Jews were not always good. They did wicked 
things over and over again, but after they had done wrong they 
were sorry for it, and asked God to forgive them. Then they 
started over again, and tried to do better. 

When Jacob was an old man, he and his children and grand- 
children went to live in Egypt, and lived there happily a good 
many years. But the time came when the Children of Israel 
were not happy ; for the kings who w^ere then on the throne w^ere 
not kind to them. They made slaves of them, and the Jews had 
to work so hard and so^long that they almost forgot their God. 

But at last a child was born who had a different life from the 
rest of his people. He was named Moses, and was brought up 
by the king's daughter, in the king's palace. He was ver}^ wise 
and learned. He thought a great deal about his people. He 
could see how badly they were treated, and how unhappy they 
were, and his greatest wish was to set them free and take them 
back to Palestine. The time came when God allowed him to do 
this. 

It was hard to get so many people started, and harder yet to 
make them do as God would have them. They found fault with 
everything if things did not please them : with Moses, and even 
with God. There were many years of very hard work for Moses 
and their other leaders before they were at last settled in their 
own country, in homes of their own. 

For a great many years God was really their king. He gave 
them laws through Moses, and all their leaders were chosen by 
God. They all talked with God, and learned from him what to 
do for the people. But the time came when they wanted to be 
like the other nations around them and have a king whom they 
could see, and who could go before their army when it went to war. 



INTKODLXTJON 3 

The first king was not a good ruler ; but after he died a young 
man named David came to the throne, and David was a good 
king. He tried to do as well as he could himself, and tried to 
teach the people to obey the laws of their God. 

David belonged to the tribe of Judah, and was born in Beth- 
lehem. He was only a shepherd boy when he was chosen to be 
king, and for that reason he is often called the Shepherd King, 
Although he left his country home and went to Jerusalem to live 
when he was quite a young man, he never forgot the lessons he 
learned in the fields of Bethlehem. He wrote beautiful songs that 
show that while he stayed with the sheep, hour after hour, his 
thoughts were about God and his goodness. It was thousands of 
years ago that David lived, yet ever since that time people have 
read and sung these songs, and we can read them now in that 
part of the Bible called the Psalms. One of them begins, '^ The 
Lord is my shepherd." Perhaps you know it. 

After David died, his son Solomon became king. He was very 
rich, and knew so much that he has been called the wisest man 
that ever lived. He built for the people a beautiful temple where 
they could meet to Avorship God. When this temple was built 
the people promised to always love and obey the God who had 
been so good to them and to their fathers. If they had remem- 
bered this promise, and kept it, they would have been a strong 
nation even now ] but very soon they began to break God's laws. 
Some of them even began to pray to idols. 

After King Solomon died things grew worse and worse, until 
at last the Jews were conquered by other nations, their cities de- 
stroyed, and the people carried away to other countries. After a 
time some were allowed to go back to Palestine to live, but there 
has never been a real Jewish nation since that time, and that was 
a great many years ago. 

But the Jews kept up their courage ; for their prophets had 



4 IXTRODUCTION 

told them that they should have a king who should rule the 
whole world, and who should reign for ever and ever. Prophets 
are men w4io tell Avhat is going to happen long before it does 
come ; they foretell things. We have men whom we call 
weather-prophets. By studying the sky, the clouds, and the 
winds, they can tell what sort of weather we are likely to have. 
But these Jewish prophets talked with God, and he told them 
what to foretell, so they never made any mistakes. 

These prophets did not all live at one time ; nor did they all 
tell the same things about the king. One said he was to be born 
in Bethlehem, and was to belong to David's family. Another 
said when he should be born ; and others told something else 
about his life. Still another said that before he came God would 
send a great prophet, who Avould teach the people how to get 
ready for the Christ, their king. 

At the time of our story there had been no prophet for four 
hundred years; but the Jews, remembering and believing what 
the prophets had promised so long ago, were looking for their king. 
For, if the prophets had spoken truly, it was almost time for him 
to come. They had forgotten that some of the prophets had said 
that the king was to be poor, and a man of sorrows. They ex- 
pected him to come in great power, and make them a strong free 
nation again. 

Although many Jews were now living in Palestine, they were 
under the rule of the Roman Emperor. The Emperor had so 
large a country that he could not look after it all himself ; but 
divided it into what were called provinces and appointed rulers 
to take charge of them for him. The Jews did not like to obey 
the Roman Emperor, they did not like the rulers who were sent 
to them, and they did so long for their own strong king. 

Herod, one of the Roman rulers, who was called a king, was 
very much disliked, and he began to be afraid that he would lose 



INTRODrCTlOX 5 

liis throne. So to please the Jews he built them a temple, even 
more beautiful than the one which Solomon had built for them. 
That one had been destroyed when the Jews wel^e driven out of 
their country, and the one which had been built when they had 
returned was now so old that it was falling to pieces. 

The temple was not much like our churches, nor was the ser- 
vice like ours. There was one building of two rooms. In the 
smaller of these only the High Priest went, and only once a year. 
In the other any priest could go. 

Around this building were four large open spaces called 
•courts, separated from each other by walls. The one next the 
building was for the priests alone ; the next for the Jewish men ; 
the third for the Jewish women, and the fourth for all who were 
not Jews. No one could go farther than the court in which he 
belonged. When we speak of people going into the temple, we 
mean they went into one of these courts. 

The priests were the ministers, who did all the work of the 
temple, and took charge of the services. In those days the peo- 
ple did more than pray to God to forgive their sins. In the tem- 
ple was an altar, or sort of table covered with brass. On this 
altar a fire was kept burning day and night. Twice every day a 
lamb which had just been killed was burned on this altar, and 
while it was burning the people prayed to God, asking him to 
forgive their sins, and to destroy the memory of them as the fire 
was destroying the lamb. This was called offering a sacrifice. 

Another thing the priests did was to offer incense. Incense 
was made of sweet spices, and was very fragrant. While it was 
burning the people in the courts outside were praying that their 
prayers might rise to God as sweet and pure and well pleasing as 
the incense. 

One day, just about the time that our story begins, the work 
•of burning the incense fell to the lot of a priest named Zacharias, 



6 INTRODUCTIOI^ 

who had a wife Elizabeth, but who had no children. Both were 
very sorry for this, and often when they prayed, they asked God 
to give them a little son. 

On this day, as Zach arias alone in the temple was burning 
the incense, and praying to God, he looked np and saw an angel of 
the Lord standing at the right side of the altar. When Zacharias 
saw him he was afraid. But the angel said : " Do not be afraid, 
Zacharias, for your prayer is heard ; God will give you and Eliza- 
beth a baby boy, and you must call his name ^ohn. He will 
bring you joy and gladness, and many other people will rejoice 
that he is born. For he shall l^e great in the sight of the Lord, 
and will turn many from their wricked ways, and teach them to- 
love God. This child is the one whom the prophets said would 
come to make the world ready for the Christ." 

Zacharias could not believe what he heard, and asked, " How 
shall I know that what you say is true ? " The angel answered, 
" God sent me to tell you about it, and because you have not 
believed my w^ord you will not be able to speak again until the 
day when it comes true." 

The people outside in the courts waited for Zacharias to come 
back, and wondered why he stayed so long in the temple. When 
he did come out he could not speak to them. They knew that 
something had happened, for he made signs to them, but did not 
speak. When his week of service was over he went to his home 
in the hill country of Judea, and there, Avhen the time came, the 
baby boy was born. 

Little Jewish children were not named until they Avere eight 
days old. When it was time for this baby to be named, the 
friends called him Zacharias, after his father. His mother said, 
" No, he is to be called John." The friends thought it Avas 
strange to call him that, for no one in the family ever had that 
name ; and, too, it Avas the custom to call the first boy by his 



INTRODUCTION 7 

father's name. They made signs to Zacharias, asking how he 
would have him called. Zacharias asked for a writing tablet and 
wrote, ^' His name is John." 

The friends wondered still more when the father also chose 
that name, but they soon had still greater reason for surprise. 
Zacharias, who had not spoken for so long, began to talk again. 
Would you like to know what he said first ? He thanked God 
for what had happened, and then told the friends who were with 
them that the Christ, the promised king, was coming very soon, 
and that this child of his was the prophet who would teach the 
people about their king. This story was told all through the hill 
country of Judea, and the people asked, ^- What kind of a child 
will he be?" 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 



THE BIRTH OF THE CHRIST 

In G-alilee, in the northern part of the Holy Land, is the 
little town of Nazareth. In this town lived a beautiful young 
woman, loving and gentle and pure. She was named Mary, and 
was the cousin of Elizabeth. 

A little while before John was born, as Mary was sitting 
alone one spring day, the angel who was sent to Zacharias came 
to her and said, "God is very kind to you, Mary, for he has 
chosen you to be the mother of the Christ-child. You must call 
his name Jesus (which means SaAuour), for he will save the 
people from their sins. He shall be great, and be called the 
Son of God, and shall rule the world for ever and ever." 

Mary believed what the angel told her, and gently answered, 
'' Let it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her. 

In the early part of the winter the Emperor of Rome, Caesar 
Augustus, commanded that all the people should be enrolled, 
which means that they should have their names written down on 



10 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 



a roll of paper. Every Jew of the same tribe must have his 
name v^ritten on the same roll. The Jews Avere very nuich 

scattered, and to do this 
each had to go to the city 
or town where the fathers 
of his tribe had lived, be- 
cause the tribal roll was 
there. 

Mary and her hus- 
band were both of the 
tribe of Judali, and Beth- 
lehem was the city of 
that tribe. You remem- 
ber, do you not, that 
David was of the tribe of 
Judah, and lived in Beth- 
lehem when he was a 
shepherd boy ? Because 
the Jews were so fond of 
David they called Bethle- 
hem the City of David. 

Bethlehem was eighty 
miles away from Naza- 
reth, and the roads be- 
tween the two places were 
very rough and stony, up hill and down hill. It was a hard 
journey to take. Mary and Joseph could not travel very fast, 
,and when they reached the city the houses were all full, for 
strangers from every part of the country had come to Bethlehem 
on the same errand as theirs. They were very tired when their 
journey was over, but they found no one there ready to welcome 
them. There was no room for them anywhere, except in a stable. 




Arrival at Bethlehem 



THE BIRTH OF THE CHKIST 



11 



There they found a resting-place, and there that night God 
gave to Mary the baby he had ^^romised her, the baby that was 
the long-expected King of the Jews. 

The poor people in that country often wrapped a long band 
around their little babies 
to clothe them, and this 
sort of dress was called 
swaddling clothes. Mary 
wrapped her baby in 
swaddling clothes, and 
since there was no other 
crib for him she laid him 
in a manger. 

In the beautiful val- 
ley just outside the city, 
where David had taken 
care of his father's 
sheep so many years 
before, some shepherds 
were watching their 
flocks that night. They 
watched them day and 
night, for it was not 
safe to leave them alone. 
Robbers and wild beasts 
were about, and the sheep might come to harm if left without 
care. 

The shepherds knew that it was time for the Christ to come, 
and this night they were probably thinking of him and talking 
one to another, when all at once a bright light shone around 
them, and the angel of the Lord came before them. They were 
very much afraid, but the angel said : " Fear not, for, behold, I 




Angels and Shepherds 



12 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 



bring you good tidings of great joy that shall be to all people. 
For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour 
which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign to you: 
you will find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a 
manger." 

And suddenly there were with this angel a great many more 
who sang, '' Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, 
good will to men." 

When the ano-els had trone awav from them into heaven, the 

shepherds said to one 

go to Bethlehem right 
away, and see this baby, 
of whom the angels 
have been telling us." 

They started at once 
and soon came to the 
city, for it was not 
more than a mile away. 
And there they found 
Joseph and Mary and 
the baby. 

The shepherds were 
very happy. They had 
so longed to have the 
Christ come ; now he 
had coiTie, and they 
were looking at him. 
Do you not think that 
Mary was happy, too, 
when she learned from the shepherds how they knew of her 
baby's birth? She did not talk much about it, but the thought 




Adoration of Shepherds 



THE BIRTH OF THE CHRIST 



13 



was a comfort to her for the rest of her life. The shepherds 

went out and talked with every one whom they met about the 

wonderful child, and what the angels had said of him ; and 

thanked God for what they 

had seen and heard, as 

they went back to their 

sheep. 

When the child was 
eight days old Mary named 
him Jesus, as the angel 
had told her. When he 
was forty days old he was 
taken to the temple at Je- 
rusalem. This was done 
in order to obey a Jewish 
law that said that a mother 
must take her child to the 
temple and offer sacrifices 
for him. If she could af- 
ford it she must take a 
lamb and a turtle dove for 
the sacrifice ; if she were 
poor she could take two 
turtle doves or two young 

pigeons. As Joseph and Mary were poor, they tuok two turtle 
doves. 

There was an old man in Jerusalem, named Simeon, who 
loved God, and who had so longed to see the Christ that God 
had promised him that he should not die until he had seen the 
child. Simeon was in the temple when Joseph and Mary brought 
in the child Jesus. He looked at the baby, and knew at once 
that this was the Christ he had so longed to see. 




Presentation in the Temple 



14 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

He took Jesus in liis arms, and thanked God that he had 
been allowed to see his Christ. " Lord, now I am willing and 
glad to go," he said, " for I have seen thy Christ ; the Saviour 
who has come to make the world brighter and better." Then 
he said, as he gave the child back to his mother : " This child is 
born to be a great help to many people, but others will not 
believe him. They will speak against him, and will bring much 
sorrow to him, and his trouble will cause you sorrow too." 

While these things were happening in Palestine, there were 
in another country in the East some wise men who saw a bright 
new star in the sky. These men studied the stars so much that 
they knew those that generally shone as they did old friends, 
and they knew that they had not seen this before. It seemed to 
tell them that some great thing had happened. They knew that 
the Jews Ave re expecting a king, and they decided that this star 
was sent to tell them that he was born ; and they thouglit they 
should go to honor him. 

So, although they lived a long way from Palestine, they took 
splendid gifts in their hands and went to find the king. They 
followed the star until they came to Jerusalem, where Herod 
the king lived. They were sure that a king would be found in a 
king's house, so they went to Herod's palace and asked him : 
" Where is he that is born King of the Jews ? For we have seen 
his star in the East, and have come to worship him." 

Herod could not answer them. If he had ever heard of the 
birth of Jesus, it had not interested him enough to make him 
remember it. But he called together the learned Jews, and asked 
them where they expected the Christ to be born. They told him 
that the prophets had said that he should be born in the little 
town of Bethlehem. 

After Herod had found out all he could about the child, he 
called the wise men and asked them how long it had been since 



THE BIRTH OF THE CHRIST 



15 



they first saw the star. He wanted to know how old the child 
was. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying to them, " Go 
and look carefully for the child, and when yon have found him 
bring me back word where he is, that I may go and worship 
him also." 

The wise men then left Herod and went to Bethlehem, follow- 
ing the star until they came 
to the house where Jesus 
was. And when they had 
come into the house they 
saw the child with Mary 
his mother, and they fell 
down and worshipped him. 
And when they had opened 
their treasures they gave 
him their gifts : gold, 
frankincense, and myrrh. 
Frankincense and myrrh 
are costly perfumes. 

This is the first time 
that any child ever had a 
Christmas present. And 
when Christmas comes 
round year after year bring- 
ing with it gifts from those 
who love us, we will re- 
member this story, will we 
not? And we will think 

with love of the little child whose birth we celebrate on Christ- 
mas Day. 

After giving Jesus their presents, the wise men started home 
again. But they did not go back to tell Herod where they had 




The Three Wise Men 



16 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

found the child, for God had told them in a dream that Herod 
did not mean what he said, that he did not want to worship 
Jesus, but to kill him. So they went home another way. 

When Herod had heard the strangers asking him where they 
could find the King of the Jews he had been greatly interested, 
and a good deal worried. He was afraid that he would have more 
troul)le than ever with the Jews if they had a king of their own. 
So he, too, wanted to find the child. He had expected the wise 
men to tell him when they went back to Jerusalem just where 
he could be found, and there would be no more trouble after that. 

But the wise men did not come back to tell him. He waited 
and waited, till at last he found that they had gone to their 
homes without seeing him again. Herod was very angry when 
he heard this. '^' I nnist find the child," he said; '^ it will not do 
to let him live to be king." One of his plans had failed, but he 
thouQ^ht of another. 

He did not know how old the child king was, but he was 
sure that he could not be more than two years old. So, as he 
did not know where to find him, he sent his soldiers to kill every 
boy in Bethlehem that was two years old, or younger. (The 
word '' child " in our Bibles really means hoyn ; Herod did not 
need to kill girls in order to be sure of killing Jesus.) The 
soldiers did as they were told, and there were many sad homes 
in Bethlehem that day. This sounds even more cruel than it 
really was, for Bethlehem was a very small town, and there were 
probably not more than twenty or thirty boys there. 

But even this plan of Herod's failed to harm the child Jesus. 
For on the night after the wise men had started for their homes, 
an angel of the Lord said to Joseph in a dream, '' Take the child 
and his mother and flee into Egypt, and stay there until I bring 
you word; for Herod will look for the young child to destroy 
him." 



THE BIRTH OF THE CHRIST 



IT 



So Joseph took the child and his mother that very night, 

had told him. In 



as 



the 



angel 



and left Bethlehem to do 
Egypt they were safe, for 
Herod had no power there, 
and could not touch them, 
even if he had been able to 
find out that they had gone 
there. Probably he never 
knew that he had not killed 
the boy king when he sent 
his soldiers to the city where 
he had been born. 

They lived in Egypt till 
the wicked king Herod died. 
We do not know what they 
did there, or where they 
stayed, although many sto- 
ries are told about them. 
They probably lived very 
quietly. 

After the death of Herod 
Joseph dreamed again, and 
again the angel came to him, 
saying, '' Rise, take the child 
and his mother, and go back 
to your own land ; for they are dead who sought to kill the cbi'd."' 
Joseph obeyed this dream as he had the other. 

But they did not go to Bethlehem to live; for they heard thnt, 
although the king Herod was dead, yet his son Archelaus, who was 
ruler there now, was a very wicked man. They went to Nazareth, 
the early home of Joseph and Mary. There Jesus lived all the 
years of his childhood, and all but three years of his whole Jife. 




Flight into Egypt 



THE BOYHOOD OF THE CHRIST 



We do not know much about him when he was a boj. The 
Bible says that he was '' filled with wisdom," and that he Avas '* in 
favor with God and man." We know by this that he was a good 
boy, and was loved by every one who knew him. 

The people in Nazareth were not thought to be very good, 



and sometimes, when Jesus was 



upon 



because he had once lived in 




Infancy of Christ 



older, he was looked down 
Nazareth. But if the people 
were not good the country 
was beautiful. Jesus proba- 
bly went to school with 
the other Jewish boys, and 
studied Jewish history and 
law, from the books of the 
Bible. We can also think 
of him as playing and work- 
ing in his father's carpen- 
ter's shop, and with his 
mother in the house. 

He learned, too, from 
other teachers than books. 
The mountains and lakes, 
the birds and flowers, the 
storms, the sunshine, and 
indeed everything he saw 
or heard, had lessons for 
him which he was happy in 
learning. 

This was how he became 



filled with wisdom ; because he saw something to learn in every- 
about him, and was willing to try to learn the lesson. 

18 



thing 



THE BOYHOOD OF THE CHRIST 



19 



The Bible tells of a journey Jesus took when he was twelve 
years old. Every year in the spring there was a great feast in 
Jerusalem, 
called the Feast 
of the Pass- 
over ; and Jews 
from all parts 
of the country 
w^ent to it. The 
women and old 
men commonly, 
rode on mules or 
donkeys ; some- 
times on horses 
or camels. The 
young men, with 
long sticks in 
their hands, 
walked beside 

them and led the animals. Children were not generally taken 
till they were twelve years old ; those who did go ran a part 
of the way, but when they were tired they were given a ride. 

Ever so many people travelled together, and had such a good 
time on the way ! They talked and laughed and sang together, 
stopped at the springs to get water when they were thirsty, and, 
as they walked along, picked the fruit and berries they found by 
the roadside. When they were tired they stopped to rest ; for 
many of them had a long way to go. 

Thousands of strangers were in Jerusalem wdien the feast 
began. Every house was full, and tents were put up for those 
who could not find room anywhere else. 

When Jesus was twelve years old his parents took him, for 




Jesus, Twelve Years Old, on His Way to Jerusalem 



20 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 



the first time, to this feast. It lasted seven days, and then the 
long procession started home again. Jesus was so much inter- 
ested in wliat he was seeing and hearing tliat when the others 
left the city he stayed behind. His parents did not know this ; 
tliey supposed that of course he was with some of their friends in 
the company, and did not looli for him until evening. Then he 
was nowhere to be found, and no one remembered seeing him all 
day. Think how troubled his parents must have felt ! The boy 
who had never been away from them was lost, and so far away 

from home, too ! Thev 
must go back to Jeru- 
salem to find him. 

It took them an- 
other day to get to the 
city, so it was the third 
day before they ^nw 
their boy again. Then 
where do you think 
they found him? In 
the temple, hearing tlie 
old, gray-haiied men 
talk, and asking them 
questions so wise that 
they were astonished to 
find a boy of twelve 
years who 
much. 

Do you 

parents w^ere glad to 

see him ? His mother 

hurried to him and said : ^' My son, w^hy did you leave us ? Your 

father and I have been looking for you, and have been very sad." 




knew 



so 



think hit 



Christ in the Temple 



THE BOYHOOD OF THE CHRIST 21 

Jesus answered her : " Why did you look for me ? Did you 
not know that I must be about my Father's business?" Jesus 
•did not mean Joseph when he said ^' my Father," he meant God. 
He was a young boy, but he was very thoughtful, and he knew 
that there was work for him to do in the world ; and that his 
work was to teach people how his Father wants them to live. 
He would have liked to, have begun his work even now, but it 
was not yet time for him to do so. He went back to Nazareth 
with his parents, and was the same loving, obedient boy that he 
had always been. 

Until a Jewish boy was twelve years old he was called a little 
boy ; but after that he was a young man, and was expected to 
study and work as the young men did. Every one must learn 
some trade, or some kind of work by which he could earn his 
living. Joseph was a carpenter, and he taught Jesus to do cai*- 
pentry work : to make houses, tables, yokes for oxen, or anything 
that is made of wood. 

So, busy with his studies and his work, Jesus lived at Naza- 
reth till he was thirty years old. We will leave him there for a 
while, and see what has become of the son of Zacharias. 

John, too, grew to be a thoughtful, manly boy ; for his father 
told him what his work was to be, and taught him what he 
needed to know, to be ready for it. As he grew older he knew 
that he could not do good work unless he thought, studied, and 
prayed much about it. To do this he left his home and his 
friends, and went to live all alone in the wilderness. 

He could find enough to eat there : locusts, and the honey 
which the bees left in the rocks and the hollow trees. Locusts 
are something like our grasshoppers, and even now, in that coun- 
try, people eat a great many of them. There were caves in the 
sides of the hills, where John could find shelter from the cold 
and storms, and from any wild beasts that might be about. His 



99 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 



clothing was made of the coarse hair which grows on a camel, 
and was fastened around his waist with a leather belt. 

There in the woods he lived alone for many years with noth- 
ing to take his mind from his work. At last the time came for 

him to preach. 

There is a river in Pal- 
estine called the Jordan^, 
and it was to the banks 
of the Jordan that John 
came from the wilderness 
and began to preach. He 
was so much in earnest, 
and spoke so well, that 
people liked to listen to 
him ; and before long great 
crowds from all around 
came everyday to hear him. 
They all thought he 
must be the Christ ; but 
John said : " No, I am not 
the Christ. I am the 
prophet from the wilder- 
ness whose work it is to 
prepare the way for the 
Christ, and tell people about 
him. 

" He is to be so much 
greater than I am that I am not good enough even to be his ser- 
vant. Your Saviour is coming very soon, but he will not save 
you unless you are sorry for your sins. You must not say to your- 
selves: ' God will love us because we are the children of Abraham.* 
You must be good yourselves if you want to be loved and saved/' 




John the Baptist in the Wilderness 



THE BOYHOOD OF THE CHRIST 



23 



Over and over again John said to the people, "■ Repent, and 
^be baptized, every one of you." To repent is to be so sorry 
for something we have 
done that we will never 
do it again. After they 
repented he baptized 
them. Baptism means 
the w^ashing away of 
sins. You know how 
pure and clean water 
makes things that are 
washed in it. So water 
is used in baptism as a 
sign that the one who 
is baptized wants his 
heart made pure and 
clean. 

John baptized so 
many people that he 
is called John the Bap- 
tist, but he told them 
all that the baptism did 
not make them good ; 

it only showed others that they meant to try to be better men 
and Avomen. "When the Christ comes," he said, "he wdll give 
you a new heart, and that is what you need to be really good." 

We should all pray just as David did so long ago : " Create 
in me a clean heart, God ; and renew a right spirit within 
me." This is not a very long prayer, but it means a great deal ; 
for when we have been given new, clean hearts we w^ill never 
again do wrong without being very, very sorry, and praying to 
be forgiven. 




John the Baptist Preaching 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 



THE OPENING OF THE MINISTRY 

One day John was preaching as usual, when a stranger came^ 
to him and asked to be baptized. John looked at him for a 

minute, and then said: 
*^' ' '' I need to be baptized 

by you. Why do you 
come to me?" For in 
that one look something 
in the stranger's face 
told John that it was 
Jesus, the Christ, who 
had asked to be bap- 
tized. Although they 
were cousins, their 
homes were so far apart 
that they had neyer 
seen each other. 

John knew that the 
Sayiour did not need to 
repent, for he had never 
done anything that was 
wrong. He did not want 

Baptism of Jesus ^^ jjaptizC him, but JcSUS 

said: "I want you to do it. It is right that you should, eyen if 
you do not know the reason why." Then they both went into the 
Jordan, and Jesus was baptized. 

When he came up out of the water something in the form of 
a dove rested on his head, and a yoice from heaven said, '* This 
is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." It was God's 
voice. 

24 




i 




^fi h 


1 


iul 


M 


w^m 


P^^JP 


'n^' 



THE MINISTRY OF THi: CHRIST 25 

Jesus did not wait to talk to the people then ; he went off by 
himself into the wilderness, where he could be alone with God. 
He wanted to think about the new life he had just begun. He 
had no liome now, for he had given up his home and everything 
that was dear to him in Nazareth, to spend the rest of his life in 
doing good to others, and in teaching them how to be happy. 

Forty days and forty nights he spent in this wilderness, think- 
ing much of what others needed, but so little about what he him- 
self needed that in all that time he had eaten nothing. Now he 
felt hungry. Round about him were some smooth stones shaped 
much like the loaves of bread they used in that country. They 
were something like our crackers. 

Did the wicked spirit who is called Satan ever whisper in your 
ear, asking you to do something which you knew was not right ? 
Well, that wicked spirit came to Jesus now when he was so 
hungry, and said : '^ If you are the Son of God, you can do any- 
thing you want to. Just turn these stones into bread." Jesus 
was able to do this, for in a few days he did something just as 
wonderful ; but he had been asking God for power to help other 
people, not to help himself. He did not turn the stones into 
bread, but answered Satan with a Bible verse which means that 
although we need to feed our bodies we also need to trust and 
obey God, who has promised to take care of us. 

Satan whispered to him again and said : '' If you are the Son 
of God, why do you not throw yourself down from the high roof 
of the temple at Jerusalem ? God will send his angels to take 
care of you, for he has promised to do so. They will hold you 
up in their hands so that you will not get hurt. And when the 
people see angels taking care of you, and not allowing you to fall, 
they will believe at once that you are the Christ, and they will 
worship you." Again Jesus answered with a Bible verse. What 
he said means that although it is true that God has promised to 



26 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 



help us when we are m trouble, it is wicked to do things that 
are dangerous just to see if he will help us. 

Satan now took Jesus where he could see a long way off, and 
as he thought of all the cities lying beyond the hills, filled with 
people and riches, Satan said : '' All these you can have, if you 

will obey me. The people 
will be glad to have you 
for their king if you will 
not find fault with their 
wicked ways. Never mind 
if they are wicked. Try 
to please them and me in- 
stead of trying to please 
God." 

But Jesus answered him: 
'- Go away from me, Satan, 
I will have nothing to do 
with you. It is written, 
' Thou shalt love the Lord, 
thy God, and him only shalt 
thou serve.' " The wicked 
spirit found that here was 
a man whom he could not 
tempt to do wrong, and he 
went away for that day. 
Many other times the evil 
spirit tried to make Jesus do what was wrong, for the Bil)le says 
that he was tempted in every way just as we are, but never 
sinned. That is why our Saviour can help us conquer sin, if we 
ask him ; because he knows just how hard it is for us to do 
right, and just ^\hat we need to conquer Satan. After Satan had 
gone angels came and comforted Jesus. 




Temptation of Christ 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 



27 



Shortly after this Jesus went back to the Jordan, where John 
was still preaching to a great many people. As John looked up 
iind saw Jesus coming toward them, 
he said to his hearers, " Behold the 
Lamb of God, which taketh away 
the sins of the world." What did 
John mean ? Just this. Before 
long, Jesus, a pure, gentle man 
who had never done a wrong thing, 
would be put to death like the 
lamb in the temple service, for the 
sins of other people. After this 
happened people need not offer 
sacrifices any more ; for their sins 
would be forgiven if they asked 
Ood to do it for Jesus' sake. 

The next day Jesus passed that 
way again. John the Baptist was 
there talking to two of his friends, 
John and Andrew, and seeing Je- 
sus coming he said again, '^ Behold 
the Lamb of God." This time the 
two men followed Jesus, who, 
turning round and seeing them 
close behind him, asked, '"' What 

are you looking for?" They answered, ^' Rabbi " (which means 
master or teacher), "where do you live?" He said, "Come and 
see." They went with him to the place where he was staying, 
and spent the rest of the day there. Andrew was so much pleased 
with his new friend that he found his brother Simon, afterward 
^called Peter, and brought him to Christ. 

The next day Jesus started on a journey to Galilee, and his 




Jesus walking by the Sea 



28 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

three new friends went with him. On the way they met a man 
named Philip, Avho lived in the same town as Andrew and Peter. 
Jesus invited Philip to go with them, and he was very glad to do 
so. Before he went he found his friend Nathanael, and asked 
him to join them. 

Nathanael did not wish to go wlien he heard that Jesus was 
from Nazareth. You remember that the people of Nazareth were 
not thought to be good, so Nathanael did not think a man from 
that place could be the Christ. But Philip asked him to go and 
see Jesns before he decided, and Nathanael went with him. Af- 
ter talking for a little while he said, '' Rabbi, you are the Son of 
God : you are the King of Israel." He was as much pleased with 
the new friend as the others were, and was glad to join the little 
company on their way to Galilee. There were six in the company 
now, — Jesns, and the five men, John, Andrew and Peter, Philip 
and Nathanael, who were dear friends of Jesus the rest of their 
lives. They are called his disciples, or learners, because they lis- 
tened to his teachino^s and learned from him. 

On the third day that they were together there was a wedding 
in Cana of Galilee, and Jesus and his disciples were invited to the 
feast, ^yhen they came to the house, they found Mary, the mother 
of Jesus, there. The feast lasted several days, and before it was 
over the wine gave out. What should they do ? It would not 
do to he without any, yet they did not know where to get more. 
Mary told Jesus that they had no wine, and although he seemed 
very unwilling to do anything about it, she was so sure that he 
would help them that she said to the servants, " Do whatever he 
tells you." 

There were six water-pots, or large stone jars, outside the door, 
filled with water. For it is so hot and dnsty in that country that 
the people need to bathe often, and jars for that use are kept out- 
side the doors of most houses. The tops of the jars are filled 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 



29 



with fresh, green leaves, and these leaves keep the water clean and 
cool. Jesus told the servants to empty all the water from the jars, 
and then to fill them again with clear water. This they did, fill- 



ing them to the brim. 



^ 



Then Jesus said, '' Draw some out now, and take it to the gov- 
ernor of the feast." This was the chief guest, who had the 
direction of much of the 
feast. The servants did 

as he told them. The ]\ 

governor took a taste of 
what they brought him, 
and said : " How is this ? 
At most feasts they 
serve their best wine at 
the beginning, and keep 
the poorest till the last ; 
but here at the end of 
the feast they are serv- 
ing their best wine." 
And it was so, for Jesus 
had changed the water 
in the six jars to the 
richest of wine. 

You remember that 
although he was very 
hungry in the wilder- 
ness a few days before 

this he would not turn the stones into bread for his own use. 
Now it was different ; other people were in trouble, not he him- 
self. By using this power which God had given him, he could 
not only do a kindness to these people, but he could also show 
them that he was different from the other teachers they had 




The Marriage Feast at Cana 



30 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

known ; that lie was the Son of God. And so he did what no one 
else could possibly have done ; it was a miracle. It was the first 
time Jesus had done anything of the kind, so far as we know ; 
but Ave shall hear of a good many miracles after this, and we 
shall find that every time that he used this wonderful power, 
during all his life, it was for this very same reason ; to do a 
kindness to some one. He never used it to make himself more 
comfortable ; and, least of all, to make any one else uncomfort- 
able. 

No one was more interested in what he had done than his five 
new friends. They had known their Master only a few. days, but 
in that time they had learned to love him ; and now they were 
sure that they had made no mistake in believing him to ])e the 
Christ, for no one could do such things as this unless God gave 
him the power. 

After the feast was over Jesus and his disciples went to Caper- 
naum, a busy city on the shore of a lake which is known by three 
names ; the Sea of Galilee, the Sea of Tiberias, and Lake Gen- 
nesaret. It was a beautiful lake thirteen miles long and six miles 
wide ; and on it were thousands of boats of every kind. There 
were the war-ships of the Romans, which were very tiny in com- 
parison with those of our time. There were the little rough boats 
of the fishermen, and many gay pleasure boats. 

The country around the lake was beautiful also. Mountains 
and hills sloped down to the shore, and on these mountain-sides 
anything that was planted would grow ; for the soil was very rich. 
Scattered about were fields of wheat, groves of palms, olives, figs, 
and oranges. Where nothing else was planted, wild flowers 
sprang up in great plenty. There are a great many kinds of 
wild flowers in Palestine, many of them very beautiful, with 
rich, gay colors. A field of these flowers is said to be a won- 
derful sight that no one ever forgets who has seen it once. 



THE MimSTKY OF THE CHRIST 



31 



All along the shores of the lake cities and large towns had 
been built ; and Capernaum was one of the busiest of these cities. 
Roman soldiers were always there on guard, and strangers were 




Site of Capernaum, Sea of Galilee 

coming and going all the time, for Capernaum was a central place, 
through which people passed in going from one country to another, 
and from every direction people came here to trade. 

It was a place where Jesus could meet and talk with people 
of many nations. Later in his life he made his home in Caper- 
naum ; for, besides the w^ork which he could find to do right in 
the city, it was easy to make short trips into the country around. 
But now Jesus stayed in the city only a few days, for it was time 
to go to the Passover Feast at Jerusalem. 

You remember how delighted he was when his parents took 
him for the first time to the Passover, when he was twelve years 
old, and how he loved to stay in the temple ? But this time 
when he entered the temple courts, he was not at all pleased. 



32 



A CHILD'S STORY OF TPIE LIFE OF CHRIST 



Instead of the quietness and respect which belong to the house 
of God, there was the greatest confusion. Money 



was being 



changed, doves and sheep and oxen were being sold, even inside 
the temple wall. Such a noise as there was ! And all the while 
the temple service was going on ! 

Jesus saw some small cords which had probably been used to 
tie the animals. Out of these cords he made a Avliip, and drove 

from the temple the sheep 
and oxen, and the men who 
had charge of them. He 
upset the tables of the 
money-changers, and their 
money rolled about on the 
floor. Then he said to 
those who sold the doves : 
''Take these things away 
fi'om here, and do not make 
my Father's house a place 
of business." His voice 
was stern, and no one dared 
to disobey him ; so the 
temple court was soon 
cleared. 

You may wonder why 
they ever thought of doing 
such things as buying and 
selling animals in the tem- 
ple. The reason was that 
many of the people who 
came to worship lived a long way from Jerusalem, and could not 
easily bring with them the animals for their sacrifices ; it w^as 
better that they should buy them in Jerusalem and near the 




The Purification of the Temple 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 33 

temple. Then, too, money had to be changed; for nothnig but 
Jewish money would be taken at the temple, and people from 
different parts of the world had to bring the kinds of money that 
were used where they lived. 

If these things were true, what was there wrong about it ? 
Why was Jesus displeased ? It was not because the things were 
done, but because they were done in the wrong place ; for the 
temple was built to worship God in, not for a place of business. 
There was plenty of room outside of the temple, and if they had 
cared about God's house, and keeping it sacred, as God had told 
them, they would not have wanted to do their selling there. 
The priests should not have allowed such things to be done ; but 
probably they got a share of the money that was taken, and so 
they were willing. 

These priests were astonished and angry at what was done. 
They might lose some money if the buying and selling in the 
temple was stopped. They had another reason, too : they were 
the rulers of the people, and they did not like to have this 
stranger come and take the control they thought belonged to 
them. So they asked Jesus to give them a sign that he had the 
right to do such things. He answered them in a way that no one 
understood then ; but years afterward the disciples remembered 
the answer he gave, and then they knew what he had meant. 

Jesus stayed in Jerusalem through the Passover week. The 
Bible says that many people believed that he was the Christ 
when they saw the miracles that he did, but it does not tell us 
what these miracles were. One of these men was a very promi- 
nent man among the Jews, named Nicodemus. This man wanted 
to learn more from this wonderful teacher, but he was afraid to 
have his friends know that he did so. So he waited till one 
night after dark. Then, when no one could see what he was 
doing, he came to the place where Jesus was staying. 



84 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 



Jesus was always willing to teach those who wanted to learn 
from him, and now he was glad to tell Nicodemus about the new 

life that every one 
must live who wants to 
please God and make 
the best of himself. He 
said that because men 
did not know the best 
way to live, God sent 
his Son into the world 
to teach them ; and 
whoever believes on 
him and obeys his 
teaching's has this life 
that goes on forever 
and ever. He told him 
that the coming of the 
Son of God, like the 
sunshine, brought light 
into the world, showing 
people what was good 
and what was bad. But 
as people who have 
been doing wrong do not like to have the light show what they 
have been doing, but want to hide away in the dark, so these 
people would like their own wicked ways and thoughts better 
than those he had come to bring. 

After the Passover was over, Jesus and his disciples left 
Jerusalem and travelled through Judea, until they came to the 
place where John the Baptist was still preaching and baptizing. 
Jesus, too, began to preach. At first only a few people listened 
to him ; soon more and more became interested in hearing him 




Jesus and JMicodemus 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 35 

talk. Before long the crowds who had been so fond of hearing^ 
John, left him to follow this new Rabbi, or teacher. He did not 
baptize any of them, but his disciples baptized more than John 
did. The friends of John did not like to have the crowds leave 
their master to follow this new teacher ; they went to John, find- 
ing fault with Jesus and with the people. But John said : ''It 
is just as it should be. I am not the Christ. My work is almost 
done, but his will be greater and greater. You must take him 
for your master, and believe what he tells you. He is the Son 
of God." 

Some of the Jewish teachers, too, were envious because he- 
was winning so many friends. They did not like John very well, 
but they liked Jesus even less. This was because the people who 
had trusted them and come to them to be taught were leaving" 
them to listen to these two men. Jesus knew that they did not 
feel kindly toward him, and he thought it best for him to leave 
Judea for a while and to go into Galilee. 

THE BEGINNING OF THE WORK IN GALILEE 

The shortest road between Judea and Galilee lay through the 
province of Samaria. Few Jews ever took that way, for there 
had been a quarrel between the Jews and Samaritans hundreds 
of years before this time, and they had never become friends 
again. They hated each other so much that the Jews were 
unwilling to have anything to do with them, and would much 
rather take a longer journey than to go through their country. 
And the few Jews who did go there were not always treated very 
well by the Samaritans. 

After they decided to go to Galilee Jesus and the five disciples 
who were still with him left Judea early in the morning ; for the 
days were so hot that they wanted to travel as far as they could 
before the sun was high. They took the shortest way, the one 



;36 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 



i:hroiigh Samaria. At noontime they came to a well, and Jesus, 
who was limigry, thirsty, and tired, sat down hy the well to rest, 
while his disciples went into the city to buy food. The well was 
one which Jacob had built when he lived there hundreds of years 
befoi^e, and it was still in use. It was wide and deep, and held 
w^ater enough for all the people and their flocks. 

As Jesus sat there, weary and alone, a woman of Samaria 
■came to this well to get some water. Jesus spoke to her and 

asked, '• Will you give 
me a drink ? " It was 
a little favor to ask, 
was it not ? Yet the 
woman was so sur- 
prised to have a Jew 
speak to her that she 
said : "How does it 
happen that you, who 
are a Jew, are asking 
a drink from me, a 
woman of Samaria ? " 
This gave Jesus 
the chance he wanted, 
and he told her about 
the Living Water, 
which was the spirit 
of love and kindness 
which he had himself, 
and which he would 
give to all who would 
ask him for it. The woman asked him to give her some of this 
water ; but she did not know what he meant by it. She thought 
that if she could have some of it she would never need to g:o to 




Jesus and the Samaritan Woman 



THE MIXISTRY OF THE CHRIST 3T 

the well again. Jesus did not explain to her what he meant ; he 
began to talk to her about the wicked life she was leading ; for 
she was not a good woman. She was very much surprised that 
he should know all about her when he had never seen her before, 
mid she was sure he was a prophet. So she asked him one of 
the questions about which Jews and Samaritans had often quar- 
relled, whether people ought to worship in Jerusalem or in a tem- 
ple they had built in Samaria. But Jesus told her that neither 
was necessary ; that if people prayed to God in their hearts they 
would be heard wherever they were. She was not satisfied, and 
said that wdien the Christ came he w^ould tell them what was 
right. Jesus said, '' I, who am speaking to you, am he." 

The woman was so anxious to tell her friends that the Christ 
had come that she forgot her water and went right into the city. 
On the way she met some of her friends, and said to them : '^ Come 
and see a man who told me all things that ever I did. Is not 
this the Christ?" 

The disciples had come back while Jesus was talking to the 
woman, and had been very much surprised ; but they said noth- 
ing about it. They had learned that their Master had some good 
reason for everything he did, although they could not understand 
it. After she had gone they begged him to eat of the food they 
had brought him. But he was no longer hungry. The chance 
to help somebody to be better was more to him than food, or 
anything else. It was this that made him so lovable. 

Very soon the Samaritans came to see him, and were so 
pleased with him that they asked him to stay with them, instead 
of going to Galilee. He was always glad to stay where he could 
do good, so he went with them and stayed there two days. In 
that time many of the people believed from listening themselves 
to his teaching that he w^as the Christ, the Saviour of the world. 

At the end of these two days Jesus and his disciples started 



88 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 



again on their journey. They were together, however, only a- 
short time. The disciples went back to their homes, and Jesus- 
travelled alone through the towns of Galilee. 

While Jesus had been doing these things John the Baptist had 
been getting into trouble. John was a preacher who spoke to 
any one whom he saw doing wrong, whoever he was, and wherever 
he was. One day he told King Herod that he was leading a sin- 
ful life, and that both 
he and his wife were 
wicked people. This 
was true, but they did 
not like to hear John 
say it. They were so 
angry that they would 
have killed John if 
they had dared. But 
the Baptist had so 
many friends that 
thought he was a great 
prophet that Herod 
was afraid to do tliis. 
So instead of killing 

i^^L^JHnjI^H^^^HF him he took him and 

JhHH^^^^^^^^HHN. in prison. 

^^ WWi i BW WBBB^^ Jesus, you remem- 

ber, was travelling in 
Galilee. The people 
there were glad to 
have him with them once more. Many of them had seen what 
he had done at the feast at Jerusalem, and others had heard so 
much about this preacher who talked so well and did so many 
miracles that they wanted to know him. 




John the Baptist in Prison 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 



39 



In the course of his journey he came to Cana where he had 
made the water into wine. While there, one day at noon, a 
nobleman came to him 
in great haste. He had 
€ome twenty miles, from 
Capernaum, on purpose 
to see Jesus and ask 
him a great favor. He 
had a son at home who 
was very, very ill ; it 
seemed as if he must 
die. But the father 
had known of the mir- 
acles of Jesus, and be- 
lieved that he could 
make his child well. 

So when he heard 
that Jesus was in Cana 
he went to him as 
quickly as he could, and 
begged him to go to 
Capernaum and heal 
the boy. Jesus said to him, '^ Unless you see wonders you will 
not believe." But the father only thought of his sick bo}', and 
said, " Sir, come down before my child dies." The Saviour 
looked at the father who seemed to trust him so, and said, '' Go 
home, your son will live." Did the man believe that Jesus had 
the power to cure a sick boy twenty miles away, without any 
medicine ? Yes, he believed, and went home, sure that he would 
find him well. 

When he was almost home he met his servants coming to tell 
him that his boy was well. He asked them when he began to get 




The Appeal of the Nobleman 



40 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

better, and they told him it was at one o'clock, just the time when 
Jesus had said, '•^ Your son will live." So the nobleman and all 
his family believed that Jesus was the Christ, and became his 
friends. 

Though the Jews had only one temple they had in every town 
places where they met to worship when they did not want to offer 
sacrifices. These were called synagogues. They had only one 
room. The men sat on one side of the room and the women on 
the other behind a screen. There was a raised seat for the 
preacher and ten "chief seats" where the leading Jews sat. 

The service was much like ours. There were prayers and 
hymns, and a passage was read from the Scripture, or that part 
of our Bible which we call the Old Testament. The most of what 
our New Testament tells had not yet happened. Any one could 
read this lesson, and could explain it afterward, if he had permis- 
sion from the ruler of the synagogue, who was the man Avho had 
the charge of the service. It was the custom for the reader to 
stand while he read the lesson, and to sit down in front of the 
people when he began to talk. The hymns they sang were not 
like ours, and they had no hymn books. What they usually sang 
were the Psalms, which we can read in oiu' own Bil)les. One 
man, standing in front of the others, led the singing, sometimes 
singing alone, while the people joined in the chorus. 

Soon after healing the noljleman's son Jesus spent a Sabbath 
day at his old home, Nazareth. As his custom always was, he 
Avent to the synagogue, to read the lesson and talk to the people. 
They handed him the book from which the lesson was to be read^ 
and he found one of the places where the prophet Isaiah tells 
about the Christ that was to come, and what lie was to do to help 
the people. You can find just what Jesus read to them that day 
if you look in your Bibles at the first two verses of the sixty-first 
chapter of Isaiah. 



THE MIXISTRY OF THE CHRIST 



41 



But soon they began to ask one 



After reading a few words he handed the book to the man 
who took care of it, and began to talk to the people. He told 
them that these words that he had just read were even then com- 
ing true ; that he was doing just the things that Isaiah said the 
Christ would do. 

For a little wdiile they were glad to listen to him, for he spoke 
very gently and lovingly, 
another: ^^' Is this not 
the son of Joseph the 
carpenter? We know 
his father and mother, 
and we know him. 
He is no better than 
we are. What does 
he mean by saying 
that he is the Christ? 
How can he do all 
these things?" They 
wanted him to do some 
miracle to prove that 
he was the Christ. 

When they saw he 
would do no miracle, 
but only wanted to 
talk to them, they 
grew more and more 
angry, till at last they 
were too angry to 

listen any longer. They rose, took hold of him, and led him out 
of the room to a high hill, meaning to throw him down and kill 
him. But Jesus passed through the midst of them and went 
away, very sad. 




Jesus rejected at Nazareth 



42 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 



Jesus went from Nazareth to Capernaum, and there the people 
made hhn very welcome. As soon as tliey heard of his being in 
the city they crowded around him to hear him talk. One morn- 
ing as the people were pressing close about him he stood by the 

Sea of Galilee. There 
were two fishing-boats 
on the shore of the lake 
belono:ino' to his four 
disciples. The fisher- 
men were not in their 
boats but were near 
by washing their nets. 
Jesus stepped into one 
of the boats, which be- 
longed to Peter and 
Andrew, and asked 
Peter to push out a 
little from the land. 
He could talk more 
easily if the people 
were not so close about 
him. Peter did as he 
was asked. Then Jesus 
sat down and taudit 
the people. 
When he had finished talking he said to Peter, " Now push 
out into deep water and let down your net for a haul of fishes." 
Peter had seen enough of his Master to trust liim, and oljeyed at 
once. But when they came to the deep water he said, '^ Master, 
we have been out all night, and have caught nothing. Yet, be- 
cause you have asked me to do so I will let down the net." And 
he let it down. When he began to pull it in it seemed heavy. 




Christ on the Shore of the Lake 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 



43 



He looked ; the net was so full of fishes that it had broken. He 
and Andrew could not pull it in, and called to their friends in the 
other boat to come and help them. John and James came at 
once, and together the four men pulled in so many fishes that 
both boats Avere full, and began to sink. How surprised they 
were ! 

Peter, who had obeyed his Master because he loved him, but 
who had not believed that they would catch any fish, fell down at 
his Lord's knees and 
said, ^' Depart from me, 
for I am a sinful man, 
Lord." He said this, 
not because he wanted 
Jesus to leave him, but 
because he did not feel 
good enough to be the 
friend of this wonderful 
Christ. 

Jesus knew what he 
meant, and after they 
had taken their boats 
to land he asked Peter 
and the other disciples 
too, if they would not 
like to go with him and 
become fishers of men. 
How could they be 
that ? By helping to 
save men as their Mas- 
ter was doing ; by throwing a net of love around them, which 
would draw them away from wicked places and wicked com- 
panions ; then by teaching them to love God and keep his com- 




Christ and the Fishermen 



44 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 



mandinents. When Jesus asked if they would do this, they 
gladly left their boats and nets and followed him. They stayed 
with him all the time he was on earth, travelling through the 
cities and villages wdth him, hearing him teach the people, and 
learning many things from him in their long qniet talks. After 

he left them thev still 



r 




tried to teach the people 
what they had learned 
from him. 

On the Sabbath day 
they w^ent together to 
the synagogue at Ca- 
pernaum and Jesus 
taught the lesson. 
Most of the people of 
this city loved to listen 
to him ; for he knew 
how to explain wdiat he 
had read and made the 
service very interest- 



This day an insane 
man was in the syna- 
,' gogue. The Jews be- 
lieved that if a person 
was insane it was be- 
cause a wricked spirit got into him wdiich was stronger than he 
was and so made him do these strange things. They thought 
that if the evil spirit could be driven out the man would be like 
other people. 

The people w^ere quietly listening to what Jesus was saying 
wdien all at once this insane man called out : '' Let us alone. What 



The Cure of the Insane Man 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 45 

have we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth ? Have you come to 
destroy us? I know who you are ; the Holy one of God." 

Every one else was very much frightened ; but Jesus looked 
at the man and said to the evil spirit, " Be quiet, and come out 
of him." The man fell to the floor where he tossed about for a 
few minutes. When he stood again he w^as like other people. 
The evil spirit had gone forever. He was insane no more. 

Every person in the synagogue was filled with wonder, and 
one began asking another : ^'' What does this mean ? Where does 
this man get his power ? For he commands even the unclean 
spirits and they obey him." And in all the country round about 
in Galilee people talked of wdiat had happened here. 

After the service was over Jesus and his four friends went to 
Peter's house, for they wxre all to take dinner there. Peter's 
wdfe's mother lived with him, and when Jesus reached the house 
he found her very sick with a fever. He went right into thfe 
room where she lay. Her skin was dry and hot, and she w^as in 
great pain. The Saviour stood OA^er her, took her hand in his, 
and lifted her up. At once the fever left her, and she was well ; 
so well that she was able to get up and wait on the visitors. 

THE GREAT PHYSICIA?^ 

The Jewish Sabbath ended at sunset on the day we call Sat- 
urday, and hardly had the sun gone down tliis Sabbath afternoon 
when men and women came in crowds to Peter's door. They 
had heard of what Jesus had done that day, and every one had 
brought with him some sick friend wdiom he wanted the Saviour 
to help. All sorts of people came ; men and women, old and 
young, those wdio had been sick a little while, and those who had 
been sick so long that they never expected to be any better. 
There were also many with evil spirits, like the one who had 
cried out in the synagogue that morning. 



46 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 



Jesus was tired. Do you tliink lie felt like seeing all these 
needy people and doing something for every one of them ? He 
did not think of himself. He thought of their pain, and, laying 
his hands on all the sick ones, he cured them and drove out all 
the evil spirits. 

Early the next morning, long before sunrise, he slipped quietly 
away from the house and walked out into the country where he 

could be alone with God 
and pray. For Jesus, the 
Son of God, felt that he 
needed to ask his Father 
for help and strength to 
do his work. But he was 
not alone long;. Peter and 
the other disciples came to 
him, and said, " The people 
have come again this morn- 
ing for help and are look- 
ing for you." Jesus an- 
swered : " We must not stay 
here any longer, for people 
in other phxces need us. 
Let us go to the next towns 
that I ma}^ preach there 
also." 

By this time many of 
the men and women who 
had followed the disciples 
joined them and begged 
Jesus not to leave Capernaum. But he could not do as they 
wished. He said, " I must go and preach the Kingdom of God 
to other cities, also, for that is my work." 




Healing the Sick 



THE MimSTRY OF THE CHRIST 



47 



So he left Capernaum and went through other towns of 
Gralilee, healing the sick and teaching in the synagogues. 

While passing through one of these cities a man who was a. 
leper saw him and kneeled down before him. Now leprosy is 
a very dreadful disease or 
sickness that people in hot 
countries sometimes have ; 
and one who takes the dis- 
ease almost never gets free 
from it. He is called a 
leper, and is not allowed 
to touch anybody, for a 
touch might give the dis- 
ease to the one who did not 
have it. He must leave 
his home and live with 
other lepers, and if he sees 
any one coming near him 
he must call out so that 
they will keep away. The 
Jews always called out 
" Unclean ! Unclean ! " 
But this leper did not 




The Great Physician 



Lord, if you are willing you can 



cry "Unclean." He went 

as near Jesus as he dared, 

fell down before him and said, 

make me w^ell." The Saviour felt sorry for the poor man ; he 

put out his hand and touched him and said, " I am willing ; you 

shall be well." As soon as he spoke the leprosy left the man ; 

he was well. 

Jesus said, " Tell no man how you were cured, but go and 
show yourself to the priest." 



48 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

The leper must do that to obey the hiw of the country, which 
was somewhat like this : If a man who thought he had leprosy 
found that it was a mistake and he did not have the disease, or 
if one who was a leper had been cured of his trouble, he must 
first go to the priest and prove that he was free from the disease. 
Then he must go through a form of cleansing, and the priest must 
offer sacrifices for him. After all this had been done he was 
called clean and allowed to live with his family again. The 
lepers went to the priests to be sure that they did not have the 
disease, because the priests were the ones who were taught to 
know the disease whenever they saw it ; and they were the ones 
who had a right to decide. There were no good doctors, except 
among the priests, so the people always went to them for such 
things as this, just as we go to some doctor. 

Jesus told this man to obey the law by showing himself to the 
priest, and being cleansed, but not to say anything aljout how he 
was cured. But the man was so happy and grateful that he 
could not keep still ; he went out and told every one he met that 
the Lord Jesus had cured him, and he was well. 

The news spread fast. People from far and near came to see 
the preacher who made more wonderful cures than any doctor 
they had ever known. Jesus needed rest, and for a few days he 
kept away from the crowded cities and spent the time in the 
wilderness. 

But in a very few days he was ready for work again, and went 
to his friends in Capernaum. It did not take long for people to 
find out that he was there again, and crowds came to hear him 
from that city, and from all the towns in Galilee and Judea. 

Scribes and Pharisees were often among his hearers. The 
scribes were lawyers ; they spent much time in studying the Jew- 
ish law, and taught the people what they must do to obey it. 
They were the men wlio made the copies of the Scriptures. You 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 49 

know they did not know then how to print with machines as we 
do now. Every book had to be written by hand with a pen, 
and it took a long time. The books did not look like ours, but 
were on long rolls of paper, with a stick fastened to each end, so 
they could be rolled up smoothly. When any one wanted to read 
from a book he must unwind the roll until he came to the place 
he wanted. 

The Pharisees were another very important class among the 
Jews. Jesus called them hypocrites, for they pretended to be one 
thing when they were something else. They made long prayers 
at the corners of the streets where people could hear them ; and 
gave money and food to the poor when they would be seen doing 
it. They were very strict about some things, but their hearts 
were bad, and when no one was watching them they could not be 
trusted. They were dishonest and sly and very unloving. These 
Pharisees did not like Jesus because he had told them they were 
not honest men. They wanted to find something to say against 
liim. 

One day in Capernaum a number of these people had come to 
the house where Jesus was preaching. The houses of Palestine 
are not like ours. Many of them are only one story high, and 
are covered with a flat roof that can be reached from the outside 
by stairs. This roof is quite useful ; for after the sun goes down 
in the hot summer days families sit on the roof, and even sleep 
there. A railing around the edge makes it safe. It is very easy 
to carry the beds up there, for the bed of that country is only a 
thin mattress or heavy mat which is spread on the floor when 
needed, but rolled up and put one side when not in use. In the 
•centre of the house there is often a large room called the court, 
and the part of the roof over this court is made in such a way 
that it can easily be taken oK. It was m the court of such a 
liouse that Jesus was preaching. 



50 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 



The crowd had filled the house, and the doorway was blocked 
with those who could get no farther. Four men came bringing 

with them a man who 
was sick with the palsy. 
Palsy, or paralysis, is 
a disease which takes 
the life from some part 
of the body. If one 
has palsy in his arm, he 
cannot use that arm to 
help himself ; if it is in 
his throat, he cannot 
swallow ; if it is in the 
leg, he cannot walk, or 
even move the leg. 
This man had the palsy, 
and because he could 
not walk his friends 
were brinoing; him on a 
l3ed to see the Saviour. 
They tried to get in 
through the door, but 
the crowd would not 
make way. What should they do ? They must see Jesus ! 
Their friend must be healed. There was another way to get to 
him besides going through the door, and that they now tried. 
The stairs which led to the roof were usually on the outside of 
the houses in that country. They would have no trouble in go- 
ing there, for all the people w^ere crowding the door. So they 
took the sick man up to the housetop, and, uncoA^ering the roof, 
they let him down, still lying on his bed, to the court at Jesus' 
feet. 




The Man Sick with the Palsy 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 51 

The Saviour knew what trouble they had taken to come to 
him, and it pleased him to have them show such trust that they 
were willing to do so much hard work. He stojDped his lesson and 
said to the man who was sick with the palsy, '' Son, be of good 
cheer, and your sins are forgiven." 

You remember there were many scribes and Pharisees there 
who were trying to find something to say against Jesus, so that 
they could prove that he was a bad man, who was making the 
people believe what was wrong. Now they thought they had 
found something. They said to one another, " This man pretends 
to be God ; for no one can forgive sins but God." They accused 
him of one of the very greatest sins that any man could commit. 
Pretending to be God, or to have the power that belongs only to 
God, or trying to make people think that God is not so great and 
good as He really is, was called " blasphemy." The Jewish law 
commanded that any man who spoke blasphemy, or " blas- 
phemed," should be put to death. What Jesus said would have 
been blasphemy if any one else had said it. But Jesus was the 
Son of God, and to him God had given power which had never 
been given to any one before. 

Jesus knew what they were saying, and he answered them. 
" Why do you think evil of me ? " he said ; " which words are 
easier to say, ' your sins are forgiven,' or ' arise and walk ' ? But 
I will show you that I did not say mere words, but that I, the Son 
of man, have the power to forgive sins." Then he turned to the 
sick man and said, " Get up, take up your bed, and go to your 
house." And immediately that man who was not able to get to 
Jesus without being carried by his friends rose, rolled up his bed^ 
took it under his arm, and walked away. His heart was full of 
love and thankfulness to God. The crowd, filled with wonder, 
left the housG soon afterward, saying, " We have seen strange' 
things to-day." 



62 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 



After the people had all gone, Jesus went out to take a walk. 
While walking he came to the place where Matthew, a puhlican 

or tax-collector, was sit- 
ting at his work. Jesus 
stopped and spoke to 
him, saying, ^^Will you 
follow me ? " Matthew 
probahly knew Jesus, 
and was glad to be 
chosen a disciple of 
the great Master. He 
arose at once, left his 
Avork, and followed the 
Christ. 

The puljlicans were 
the men who gathered 
the money which the 
Jews had to pay to the 
Roman Emperor. Some 
of them were Ronians 
and some were Jews. 
Calling of Matthew Probably many of them 

were dishonest men, 
who tried to collect more money than they should, especially 
from the poor. The scribes and Pharisees thought no publican 
was honest, and never tried to make one of them a better man. 
They looked down on them all as wicked men, who should not 
be allowed to associate with any one who was good. 

They hated to pay the taxes, and hated the publicans who 
collected them, whether they were Jew or Roman. But they 
hated the Jews who did this work the most, because they 
thought they should have more love for their country than to 




THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 53 

help the Romans get money from them. Bat Jesus did not 
think as the Pharisees did, and chose Matthew, who was some- 
times called Levi, to be one of his disciples. 

Matthew very soon made a feast and invited his publican 
friends to come to his house and meet the Master and the new 
companions he had chosen. It was the custom then to allow 
anybody who wished to go into a house where there was a 
feast, and look on while the real guests were eating. So the 
scribes and Pharisees followed Jesus to Matthew's house. When 
they saw Jesus at the table eating with these publicans, they said 
to the disciples, '^How is it that your Master is willing to eat 
and drink with these wicked people?" Now Jesus heard what 
they said, and he himself answ^ered them in these words : 
^' They that are well need not a physician [or doctor], but tbey 
that are sick. I came, not to call the righteous, but sinners to 
repentance." 

The Pharisees knew what he meant by this answer. He 
called them the well and the righteous because they thought 
they were good enough, and did not need help to be better. He 
who had come to make people's souls well and happy could do 
nothing for them because they would not take what he offered 
to give them. That is why he did not work with them. But 
the publicans, who knew that they were wicked people and were 
willing to be made better, were the sick; and Jesus, the great 
Physician, went among them because he could do them good. 

And now it was time again for one of the Jewish feasts at 
Jerusalem, and Jesus went to the feast. Many of the cities in 
those times were surrounded with strong walls, and in the walls 
were gates through which the people went in and out of the 
town. Jerusalem was one of these walled cities, and had five 
gates. Near one of them, known as the Sheep Gate, was a pool 
of water, called Bethesda, which means House of Mercy. Water 



54 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 



was never very plentiful in Jerusalem, and all the wells and pools 
were much prized by the people. But they were especially fond 
of Bethesda, for the water there was supposed to cure disease. 

Some one had built around the pool five stone porches, with 
steps leading down into the water. Here, sheltered from the 
weather, the sick people could wait until they coiild step into 
the pool. They could not do this whenever they wanted to. At 
certain times only there was a bubbling motion of the water, 
which they believed was made by an angel going into the pool. 
Then, as they thought, whoever stepped into the water first was 
cured of any disease he had. Of course every sick person wanted 
to be the first, and as no one could tell when the moving of the 

water would be, the 
porclies were usually 
filled with the people 
who were waiting for 
the time to come. 

It was on the Sab- 
bath day that Jesus, 
walking by this pool 
of Bethesda, saw in 
one of the porches a 
very feeble man, who 
had been sick thirty- 
eight years. His friends 
had brought him to the 
pool and left him there 
alone. The Saviour 
saw him lying there, 
and knowing how long 
he had been sick he 

The Infirm Man at Bethesda felt pity for llim. 




THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 5^ 

^' Would you like to be made well ? " he asked. The poor man 
did not know that the one who spoke to him was better able to 
€ure him than the waters of Bethesda, and answered, " Sir, I 
have no one to put me into the pool at the right time, and while 
I am trying to get there myself, some one steps in before me." 
Jesus said to him as he did to the palsied man at Capernaum^ 
"Rise, take up your bed and walk." 

Strange enough the man did not say : "I cannot do it. I have 
not walked for thirty-eight years." He felt as if he could walk 
now. He rose at once and walked away, carrying his bed with 
him. The Bible does not say that he even stopped to thank the 
one who had done so much for him, who was soon lost to his 
sight in the crowd about the pool. 

The man had not gone very far when he was stopped by some 
of the Pharisees, who thought it was w^rong to carry anything 
in the hands on the Sabbath day. They thought it was wrong 
to cure the sick, or move them in bed, or even to do any of the 
little things that make sick people more comfortable. When 
these very strict Jews saw this man with the bed under his arm 
they said, " Do you not know that it is the Saljbath day, and that 
it is against the law to carry your bed ? " The man excused him- 
self by saying, " He that made me well told me to take up my 
bed and walk." It seems as if every one would have been glad 
that the man was able to do that, but the Jews were not. They 
asked, angrily, " Who was it that told you to take up your bed ? " 
The man could not tell them, for he himself did not know. 

A little while after this they met again in the temple, and 
Jesus talked with the man about the kind of life he was living. 
If he had been a really good man he probably would not have had 
this trouble, so the Christ said to him, " You are well now, but if 
jou keep on doing wicked things something worse may happen 
to you. Go, and sin no more." The man left the temple, saw 



56 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

the Jews asrain and told them that it was Jesus who had cured 
hmi. Then they crowded about the Saviour, and began to abuse 
him, because he had done these things on the Sabbath day. 

Who do you think spent the day in the way best pleasing to 
God ? The Christ, with a heart full of love, doing what he could 
to help some one who was in trouble, or the Jews whose hearts 
were so full of hatred to him because he had done what they 
called wrong that they wanted to kill him ? 

Jesus was not afraid of them. He told them that he was only 
doing his Father's work. It made them still more angry to have 
him call God his Father. He tried to prove to them that he was 
the Son of God ; that he could not do such things as they had 
seen him do if his Father did not give him the power. He said 
that if they would trust him they would see still greater works^ 
and asked tlieui if they did not rememljer that John the Baptist had 
called him the Christ. More than that, his Father at his baj^tism 
had said, '•' This is my beloved Son." '' You study the Scriptures," 
he said, "• because you think they will save you ; and they tell of 
me. Why do you not come to me and learn what I can teach 
you ? I know why you do not come. It is because your lieart.s 
are not full of the love of God. How can you believe ? " After 
he had said all he wanted to, he left them. 

They did not dare to touch him then, but they did not forgive 
him, and they made up their minds that they would watch him, 
and see if they could not find something for which they could 
punish him. It seems very strange that they would not listen 
to him, and believe what he taught. Probably if they had been 
better men they would have been willing to listen, and would have 
learned to love the man who was always doing so much for others. 
But they liked to be the rulers of the people, and they were afraid 
that if Jesus Avere allowed to teach, the people would leave them^ 
and they would lose their power. They were jealous. 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 



57 



One Sabbath not long after this, Jesus and his disciples were 
walking through a field of grain in Galilee. The disciples were 
hnnfjry, and as thev 
walked along they 
picked some of the grain 
and ate it. It was per- 
fectly right for them to 
pick this grain, for the 
Jewish law said that 
any one could pick the 
ears with his hands 
if he wanted to eat 
them, but that no one 
must cut the grain with 
the sickle and take it 
home unless it was his. 

Wherever Jesus 
went now some of the 
Pharisees followed to 
see w^hat he was about. 
So when these men saw 
the friends of Jesus eat- 
ing the grain they said to him, '^ Your disciples are doing what 
is not right on the Sabbath." 

If the law gave the people the right to pick the grain in this 
way, why was there any reason why the Pharisees should blame 
them ? You remember that these Jew\s were very strict about 
some things, although in other ways they were very bad. One 
of the things they were very strict about was the keeping of the 
Sabbath. Their law said that they must not work on the Sab- 
bath, and they said that rubbing off the grain with the hands was 
work. So they did not allow it to be done on the Sabbath. They 




The Disciples plucking Grain 



58 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

could not blame Jesus for breaking the law, because he had not 
picked any of the grain. But they blamed him for allowing his 
disciples to do so. 

Jesus said to them : '' The priests in the temple do more work 
than this when they offer the sacrifices and burn the incense. 
Do they break the law ? If you liad any love in your hearts 
jou would not try to find fault with those who have done no 
wrong." 

The disciples went with their Master to the synagogue, and 
the Pharisees followed. There was a man there who had a with- 
ered hand, one which had dried up and was of no use to him. 
Jesus saw this man, and the Pharisees saw him, too. They won- 
dered if he would dare to do anything for him on the Sabbath 
^day. The Saviour knew that they were watching him, but that 
did not make any difference. He felt displeased with them 
because they were so hard-hearted, and asked them this question : 
^* Which is right, to do good on the Sabbath, or to do evil ? to 
save life, or to destroy it? If any of you men have one sheep and 
it should fall into a deep hole on the Sabbath day, will you not 
take hold of it and lift it out ? And how much better is a man 
than a sheep ! " There was no answer. Then Jesus said to the 
man, " Stretch out your hand." He could not possibly have done 
so a moment before, but now he stretched it out, and it was like 
the other. How angry this made the Pharisees ! They left the 
synagogue at once and planned how they could stop the work of 
this teacher. 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 



59 



THE NEW KINGDOM AND ITS LAWS 

But though the Pharisees were so unkmd to him, Jesus had 
a great many friends in those days. The crowds that gathered 
around him grew larger and larger every day. The work was 
too much for him, and he felt that he must have help. He must 

train some of his friends ^ . __ 

to go about as he had j 

been doing, and teach 

the people. He went 

out into a mountain, 

and there he stayed all 

night, praying to God 

for strength to do his 

work, and planning the 

best way to do it. 

When it was morn- 
ing he went down among 
his disciples, and chose 
twelve of them for this 
kind of work. He called 
them "Apostles." They 
were : John, James, 
Simon Peter, Andrew, 
Philip, Nathanael, and ^ 

Matthew, another ^'^°^^°s ^^^ ^^^^"^ ^p°^^^^^ 

James, another Simon, Thomas, Thaddaeus, and Judas. 

While Jesus had been choosing these apostles men and women 
had been gathering to hear his morning lesson. It Avas hard to 
talk to so many when they were pressing so close to him. So he 
went a little way up the side of the mountain, where he could be 
just a little higher than they were, and be easily seen and heard 




60 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 



by all. The apostles stayed very near him, anxious now to 
hear every word their Master said ; for were they not going out 
to teach the same lessons that he did ? 

In clear tones Jesus taught them all, the apostles and the 
crowds, the most wonderful lesson the world has ever heard. It 
is called the '^ Sermon on the Mount " ; and ever since it was 
given every one who has loved the Saviour has loved to read 
that sermon over and over again. 

First he gave them tlie rules for being happy. These are 

called the ^* Beatitudes," 
and every rule begins with 
the word " Blessed," which 
means happy. 

'' Blessed are the poor 
in spirit ; for theirs is the 
kingdom of heaven." The 
poor in spirit are those 
who are gentle, who are 
willing to be controlled, 
who do not get angry with 
one another ; who know 
they are not as good as 
they ought to be, and are 
always trying to be better. 
'' Blessed are they that 
mourn ; for they shall Ije 
comforted." To mourn is 
to be in sorrow Ijecause of 
some loss or some trouble. 
It does not seem as if be- 
ing in trouble could make 
one happy, does it ? Yet it does ; for then the heart becomes 




The Beatitudes 



THE MIXISTRY OF THE CHRIST 61 

tender, and feels the need of God. If we never had any trouble 
ourselves we should not know how to feel sorry for others ; we 
should grow selfish and hard-hearted. 

''' Blessed are the meek; for they shall mherit the earth." 
Those who are meek are patient when things do not go just right ; 
they think more of the needs of others than they do of their ow^n 
comfort, and they do not try to get the best of places and the 
most attention for themselves. 

" Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteous- 
ness ; for they shall be filled." Were you ever so hungry that it 
seemed as if you could not wait another minute for something to 
eat ? And were you ever very thirsty ? Jesus said that people 
who want to be happy must long to be good, just as they long for 
food, when they are hungry, and for water, when they are thirsty ; 
if they do that, they will l3e sure not to do wrong. 

'^ Blessed are the merciful ; for they shall obtain mercy." To 
be merciful is to show kindness to everybody and everything that 
is living. It is those who love everybody wdio are loved by every- 
body, and only those who do little deeds of kindness whenever 
they have a chance that can expect to be treated kindly themselves. 

'* Blessed are the pure in heart ; for they shall see God." 
Only by driving out the bad thoughts that come to us, and filling 
our minds with good, sweet thoughts, can we keep our hearts pure ; 
if we do not think wrong, we wall not do wrong. 

'^'Blessed are the peacemakers; for they shall be called the 
children of God." Now^ peacemakers do not tell tales or do any- 
thing else to make trouble between others. They try to stop a 
quarrel, when they know of it, and if any one speaks harshly 
to them, they give the soft answer which turns aw^ay anger. 
And all those who do this, who try to make tliis world better 
by keeping those around them sweet-tempered, are God's own 
children. 



62 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 



" Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' 
sake ; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye when 

men shall revile you and 
persecute you, and shall 
say all manner of evil 
against you falsely, for 
my sake. Rejoice and 
be exceeding!: Q;lad, for 
great is your reward in 
heaven ; for so perse- 
cuted they the prophets 
which were before you." 
Jesus knew that be- 
fore a great while his 
disciples would be ill- 
treated just because they 
were his friends, and 
tried to ohey his teach- 
ings, and these two Beat- 
itudes were given to 
encourage them when 
that time came; to teach 
them that when one is 
in the right he need not feel afraid to have people say or do 
whatever they will. God will lielp him bear whatever comes. 

Jesus called his disciples the salt of the earth and the light of 
the world. Do you know how useful s?tlt is in saving food and 
makinj^- it taste ffood ? Your mother would not think that she 
could get along without salt. Neither could the world get along 
without followers of the Christ, who live by their Master's rules. 
But if salt should lose its taste it would be good for nothing 
at all, but would be thrown away. In just the same way if the 




Christ on the Mount 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 



63 



followers of the Christ forget to live like him, they cannot do 
any good. 

He said that he would give them light ; that means he would 
make them understand his teachings. Then they must let their 
light shine ; must do good works and let people know that they 
did so because they had been with Jesus and learned of him. A 
light is of no good if it is all covered up, and not allowed to shine 
out. So the light Jesus gave them would do the world no good 
if they did not let it shine. 

" Do not think," said he, " that I have come to destroy the 

law^s you already have. , — _ . , — — ^ 

You must obey these laws ' 
even better than you have 
done, and I will teach you 
how to do it. The law 
says, ' Thou shalt not kill ' ; 
but, in God's sight, angry 
words and hatred are just 
as wdcked. 

'^ The law says, ^ An eye 
for an eye and a tooth for 
a tooth ' ; if any one does 
harm, he must be paid back 
in the same way. But I 
say : ' Resist not evil. If 
any one strikes you on the 
right cheek, turn to him 
the other also.' Do not 
pay any one back wdio 
does you harm, but bear it patiently, and try to do him good. 

'' The law says, ' Thou shalt love thy neighbor [or friend] and 
hate thine enemy ' ; but I say unto you, ' Love your enemies, do 




The Sermon on the Mount 



64 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 



good to them that hate you, and pray ^for those that ill-treat 
you. You must do these thiugs to be the children of your Father 
which is in heaven ; for he is goud to all whether they love him 

or not. You do not 
earn praise if you are 
kind only to those who 
love you and are kind 
to you." 

He taught them how 
to be generous, saying, 
'' When you give money 
or anything else to poor 
people, it must not l)e 
in the synagogue or on 
the street corners, where 
people will see you and 
praise you for what you 
have done. Y^ou nuist 
do it in secret and let 
no one know anything 
about it." 

He also taught them 
how to pray : " When 
you pray you must go 
to some place where you will l^e alone with God. Then you must 
not say over a great man}' words which do not mean anything to 
you, but nuTst speak to God as you would to your father, whom 
you love." 

It was in this sermon that Jesus taught the prayer which we 
all know and call the Lord's Prayer — Our Father which art in 
Heaven. 

He spoke to them about spending so much time in getting 




Prayer in Secret 



THE MIOTSTRY OF THE CHRIST 



65 



money and in laying up treasures on earth where there are moths 
and rust to spoil, and thieves to steal. He told them to trust 
their heavenly Father to take care of them as he did of the birds 
and the flowers. He said, " Look at the birds flying about in the 
air ; they do not sow nor reap, nor gather the grain into barns 
for the winter. Yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you 
not much better than they are ? And why be so troubled about 
your clothes ? Think of the lilies in the field, how they grow. 
They do not work ; 

they do not make their l 

clothes, and yet Solo- 
mon with all his glory 
and all his riches was 
not clothed so beauti- 
fully as they. 

" If God takes such 
care of the grass and 
flowers in the field, 
which to-day are grow- 
ing and to-morrow will 
be put into the fire, will 
he not be even more 
willing to take care of 
you, and give you food 
and clothes ; even you, 
who have so little faith ? 
So do not be so anxious 
about your food and 
your clothes, for only 

those who do not know our Father need be anxious about them. 
Your heavenly Father knows just what you need, and if you love 
him and think more about doing what he wants you to do than 




Consider the Lilies 



66 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

about what you are going to get for it, you will be given all that 
you need." 

Jesus did not mean that they were not to do any work ; that 
the men ought not to earn money and buy food and clothes for 
themselves and their children. Even the birds must fly around 
and hunt for their food, although God feeds them. So people 
will always have to work for the money to buy these things, but 
they must not be anxious and worry about it. And how foolish 
it is to spend all our time and thought on getting money which 
will only buy the things we want while we live on this earth ! 
But if we love God, and try to do those things that make our 
minds and our hearts better, we shall have something in heaven 
belonging to us. And this treasure cannot be spoiled by moths 
or by rust. If we are really God's children, he will give us all 
that we need, if we do the best we can. 

Jesus told his disciples not to judge other people ; to be sure 
that they themselves did everything just right before they found 
fault with what others did, or blamed them for what seemed 
wrong. For if you are always judging those around you, people 
will begin to judge you. They will say that you have no busi- 
ness finding fault with them when you do just as bad, or perhaps 
worse, things yourself. First be sure you are doing right, then 
you can help others to be better. 

Another thing he said was, that if they asked they would 
receive good gifts from their Father in heaven. "For," said he, 
" if your children ask you for bread will you give them a stone, 
which may look like bread, but which they cannot eat? And if 
they ask for a fish to eat, will you give them something that will 
make them sick ? And do you not think that if you are willing 
to give good things to your children when they ask, your Father 
in heaven will be willing to give you what you need, if you 
ask him ? " 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 



er 




Jesus gave theiii a rule to learn that is worth so much that it 
is called the Golden Rule, " Whatsoever ye would that men 
should do to you, do ye even so to them." 

Another thing he said to them was, " Enter in at the narrow 
door ; for the door that leads to destruction is very wide, and the 
road is A'ery broad, and 
it is easy to find it." 
But the way that leads 
to heaven is narrow, 
and there is only one 
door and one way to 
find it: by coming to 
Christ and doing what 
he wishes. It is not so 
easy at first, perhaps, 
to get into this path ; 
but it is a happier way, 
because we have our 
Father with us all the 
time. 

He showed them 
how to choose their 
friends, how they could 
tell when people were 
good. ^' Every tree is 
known by its fruits/' said he. ^' A good tree cannot bear bad 
fruit, neither can a poor tree bear good fruit. You do not pick 
figs from a thorn bush, nor grapes from a bramble bush. So it 
is with people ; a good man out of the goodness of his heart does 
that which is good, and a wicked man out of the badness of his 
heart does that which is wicked." So we can know by watching 
people whether they are trying to be good or not. 



Christ and the Children 



68 A CHILD'S STOKV OF TIIK LIFE OF CHRIST 

It was a long sermon tliat Jesus preached that day, and this 
is only a very little part of it. Some day you will want to read 
it all. If every one learned these lessons and obeyed them, what 
a happy world we should have ! Jesus himself said : '' Whoso- 
ever hears these sayings of mine and obeys them, is like a wise 
man who built his house upon a rock. The rain fell, and the 
floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it 
did not blow over, for it was built upon a rock. And every one 
that hears these sayings of mine and obeyeth them not is like a 
foolish man who l)nilt iiis house upon the sand. The rain fell, 
and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, 
and it fell. And great was the fall of it." 

THE SECOND PRE A CHI XG TOUR 

The lesson for the day was over, and Jesus came down from 
the mountain-side to go into CapernaiuTi ; for he made his home 
there now. As they entered the city they were met by some of 
the Jewish rulers, with a message for Jesus. There was a Roman 
captain, called a centurion, who had a much-loved servant. This 
servant had been taken with the palsy, and was very ill. The 
centurion had heard of Jesus, and, believing that he could heal 
any sickness, had sent word by these men, begging the Saviour to 
come and heal the servant. 

The Jews were glad to do something to help the centurion, 
because, although he was a Roman, he had been very kind to 
them, and had built them a synagogue. They urged Jesus to go. 
The Saviour said, '' I will go and heal him," and he started at 
once. 

When he was not far from the house he was met by other 
friends of the Roman captain, with another message ; for as he 
thought more about it, it seemed that he had asked too great a 
favor of Jesus. And so he had sent this word : " Lord, trouble 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 



69 



not yourself to come, for I am not worthy to have you come into 
my house. Speak the word where you are, and my servant will 
be well. For you can command disease to go, and be obeyed, just 
as I tell my soldiers to go or come, and am obeyed." 

Jesus was surprised to have this Roman trust him so fully. 
He turned about and said to those who were with him, '^ I have 




Centurion's Servant 



not seen such faith as this among the Jews." To the friends of 
the centurion he said, " Go back to the house, for the servant is 
already well." The messengers went back and found the ser- 
vant well, as Jesus had said. 

Early the next morning, while it was cool, Jesus started out 
again in another direction. This time he went to Nain, a city 
about twenty-five miles from Capernaum. His apostles were 
with him, and as was always the case in these days, the crowds 
followed too. 



70 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 



When they reached the gate of the city they met a procession 
of very sad people. A woman of Nain, whose husband had died 

some time before, had 
now lost her only son, 
and friends were carrying 
him outside the city to 
bury him. He must have 
been a boy very much 
was a 
procession following 




loved, for there 



loner 



him to the grave, and 
weeping because he had 
been taken away from 
them. 

Jesus and his apostles 

joined the procession as 

every one who met them 

was expected to do, to 

show that he felt sorry 

for the family. This poor 

mother was very, very 

sad. Jesus, seeing her 

sorrow and tears, said to 

her, " Do not weep." 

Then he did something that surprised everybody : he Avent up to 

the frame on which the young man was being carried, touched it, 

and told those who were carrying it to stop. 

They did as he said, wondering what was going to happen 
next. And what do you think did happen ? Jesus said, "Young 
man, I say to you. Arise." The boy, even though he was dead, 
heard what the Lord said. He sat up and began to talk. Jesus 
gave him back to his mother, and then went on his way. 



The Raising of the Widow's Son 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 



71 



The people who had seen what had happened were afraid and 
began to tremble. They had seen Jesus cure every kind of 
disease, but could he even bring the dead to life ? Surely no one 
could do that but the Christ. They thanked God for such a 
Saviour, and said: "A great prophet has come among us. Surely 
God has visited his people." 

The story of what Jesus had done spread about throughout 
Judea until some of 
the disciples of John 
heard it. John was 
still in prison, but his 
friends were allowed 
to visit him there, and 
some of them told their 
master what they had 
heard about the great 
preacher. John sent 
them to Jesus with 
this question, " Are 
vou the Christ that 
was to come, or must 
we still look for an- 
other?" 

Instead of answer- 
ing them in words 
Jesus showed them 
the kind of work he 
was doing. There were 

the lame and blind and sick people all around him whom he cured 
and taught. Then he said to John's disciples: "Go back and tell 
jour master what you have seen and heard ; how the blind see, 
the lame walk, the lepers are made well, the deaf hear, the dead 




*!^ifa.*«i 



The Message of John the Baptist 



72 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

are raised to life. And tell him, too, that the gospel is being 
preached to the poor." Gospel means good news. John had 
preached the gospel as long as he was allowed to do it, and Jesus 
was doing it now, and doing as the prophets had said the Christ 
would do. 

After John's disciples had left him, Jesus spoke to the people 
in words of the highest praise of John the Baptist, wdio, he said, 
was the greatest prophet the world had ever seen. Those of his 
hearers who were fond of John were very glad to hear the Sav- 
iour speak so well of him, but the scribes and Pharisees, who did 
not like the rough preacher from the wilderness, were angry to 
hear him called the greatest prophet. 

Jesus told them their actions were like those of little children 
who would not be pleased with anything. Because John the 
Baptist lived in a different way and wore different clothes ; be- 
cause he would not go into their homes and live among them, 
they found fault with him and said that he was not in his right 
mind. And yet, when he, the Son of God came, living in the 
way they did, going to their homes and eating with them, they 
did not think that was right either, and were no better pleased. 

That very day Jesus was invited to take dinner with one of 
the Pharisees who could not quite make up his mind whether this 
Rabbi was or w^as not a prophet. This Pharisee was called Simon, 
a very common name among the Jews. 

If a friend comes to visit us, or if we go to visit a friend, 
there are some things which Ave must always do to be polite. It 
is so in every country, but the rules of politeness are not always 
the same. In Palestine they were very different from ours. As 
soon as the guest arrived at the house he was expected to take off 
his shoes, or sandals, and leave them at the door. Sandals could 
be taken off very easily, for they were nothing but a sole with one 
or two straps over the foot and one over the ankle. 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 73 

After he had taken off his shoes the friend was received by 
the master of the house, who gave him a kiss of welcome, and 
then led him to his place at the table. Then a servant brought 
water and bathed his feet, which was very refreshing to the one 
who had been travelling in that hot, dusty country. It was not 
hard for the servant to do this, for the Jews did not sit at the 
tpvble as we do while eating. They lay on couches which were 




Jesus in the House of Simon 



placed at three sides of the table. They rested on their left elbow 
and left their right hand free to use. As their heads were tow- 
ards the table and their feet away from it the servant could easily 
pass from one person to another, bathing the tired feet. The 
Jews were very fond of bathing. You remember that at the 
w^edding at Cana of Galilee there were six stone jars standing 
outside the door for the use of the guests. 

After his feet had been washed, either the master of the 
house or the servant poured sweet-smelling oil on the head and 
beard of the guest. This was called anointing him. Then 



7-1 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

more water was brought for him to use m washing his hands. 
This was one of the things in which the Jews were very par- 
ticular; the hands must be washed before each meah There 
was need of the hands being clean, for every one took his bread 
in his fingers and dipped it in a dish which was passed to all. 

Jesus accepted this invitation to dinner, for he wanted to 
be friendly with all men and do what he could to please them. 
He took off his sandals at the door, and then went to his place 
iit the table. But Simon, although he ha'd invited the greatest 
man that ever lived to visit him, did nothing to care for his 
€omfort ; his feet were not bathed, he received no kiss of wel- 
come, no water was brought for his hands. 

Jesus did not seem to notice that these things were not done ; 
he took his place at the table with the others, and said nothing. 
Thino^s were o^oino; along: as usual at dinner when something^ 
happened that Simon had not planned. The door was opened 
and a woman walked in, a woman who was known in the town 
to be very wicked. She carried in her hand a box of ointment, 
a sweet-smelling perfume which was very expensive. 

It would not have seemed so strange if some man had walked 
into the house that way, for you rememljer that such a thing as 
that happened very often. But to have a woman do so was very 
strange, for not even the women of the family usually were 
allowed at the table when the men were eating. 

This woman did not mind the staring and angry eyes that 
were looking at her, but went straight to the feet of Jesus. She 
had heard the great teacher some time before this, and his talk 
had made her so ashamed of herself that since that time she had 
been living a different kind of a life ; and when she heard that 
lie was at Simon's house she made up her mind to go tliere, too, 
for she wanted to show that she was thankful to him for teach- 
ing her to be a better woman. 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 



75 



0"^ 




She did not feel worthy to be his friend, but she could do for 
him the work of a servant. As she stood behind liiiDj crying, 
her tears fell so fast that his feet were wet with them, and she 
wiped them away with her long thick hair. Even though she 
was crying, she was very happy to be so near her Savionr, and 
she showed her happi- 
ness and love by ten- 
derly kissing his feet. 
Then she took some of 
the sweet-smelling oint- 
ment from her box and 
rubbed his feet with 
that. 

All this time Simon 
looked on, wondering 
that Jesus did not put a 
stop to what the woman 
was doing, and saying 
to himself : " If this 
man were the prophet 
they say he is, he would 
know what kind of a 
woman this is, and 
would not allow her to 
touch him." Jesus, who 
was looking at Simon, 

knew what he Avas thinking about. " Simon," said he, " I have 
something to say to you." " Master, say on," answered Simon. 
Then Jesus told him this story : — 

Two men owed another man some money, but neither of 
them had anything with which to pay their debt. One of them 
owed what would be about eighty-five dollars in our money, and 



Anointing at the Pharisee's House 



7() A CHILD'S STORY OF TUK \AFE OF CHRIST 

the other about eiglit dollars and a half. The man they owed 
knew tliat neither could pay him, so he forgave them both; 
neither need pay anything. Then Jesiis asked, "Which do you 
suppose will love him the; most?" Simon answered, ''The one 
who owed tlie most, I su[)pose." ''You have answered right/* 
said Jesus. 

He liad not seemed to notice the woman before, but now he 
turned to her and, still talking to Simon, said : " Do you see this 
woman? I came to your house because you invited me. You 
gave me no water for my feet, but she has washed my feet with 
tears and Aviped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but 
this woman since I came in has not stop})od kissing my feet. 
You did not anoint my head, l)iit slie has poured ointment on 
my feet. We all know that she has been a very wicked woman, 
but she will never be so again. Slie has done many wrong things, 
but they have nil been forgiven, and she is so thankful that her 
heart is full of love." 

Simon saw what the story meant: both he and the woman 
had done many wi'ong things, although the woman had been 
more wicked than he. Neither of them could pay God to for- 
give them, yet because he loved them he had forgiven them both. 
The woman was so full of love to the one who had forgiven her 
that she wanted to do all she could to show it ; but Simon had 
not even been i)()lite. Should you not think that he Avould have 
been ashamed, when he thought about all that had happened ? 

Jesus then turned to the woman and said, " You are forgiven, 
your faith has saved you; go, now, and be happy." The Phari- 
sees were very angry at the strange teacher who told the woman 
that her sins were forgiven. They were not glad he could make 
sick people well, and wicked people good. Because he did not 
teach what they wanted, they would not believe anything he 
said, and wanted to put a stop to his work. 



THE MJNISTUY OF THE CHRIST 



77 



But if the Pharisees were imkiiid to him, he still had many 
friends. The apostles were always with him now, and there 
were three or four women who helped them all tliey could. 

From early morning till late at night the crowds pressed 
around the Saviour. Many followed him because they liked to 
hear him talk, many 
because they wanted 
him to heal their bod- 
ies. Some followed 
because the crowd did, 
and still others, like 
the Pharisees, w^ere 
jealous because he 
was so much loved, 
and wanted to find 
something in Avliat he 
did or what he said 
that was against the 
law\ If they once 
did that, they could 
complain of him to 
the rulers and have a 
stop put to his teach- 
ing:. 

One day there was je^us Teaching 

brought to Jesus an 

insane man. Any one who had a kind heart would have pitied 
this man very nuicli, for, besides being insane, he could neither 
see nor talk. But there was only one wdio could help him. His 
friends knew that, and so they brought him to the Christ. When 
the man left the Saviour he could see, he could talk, and he was 
not insane. The Christ had made a w^ell man of him. 





\ 




1 

1 




% 


1 


^^'J^ 




^ 


1^ 


■•' te^ 


i. 


i 


f,M 


M 




.*«-«• 


w*?'^ 










l^p^W . 



78 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

It would do no good for the Pharisees to try to make the 
people believe the man had not been cm^ed ; but they said, '^ To 
be sure this man can do great things, but he does not get his 
power from God ; he gets it from Satan." They wanted Jesus to 
show them a sign from heaven if it was not so, but this Jesus 
would not do. He said that they had seen signs enough to make 
them believe him, if signs were to be of any use. He said, too, 
that many other people had believed and been forgiven, after less 
teaching than they had had. 

As he said these things to them a woman in the crowd called 
out to him, " Your mother is a happy w^oman to have such a son 
as you." To her Jesus answered, " Happier still are those who 
hear the word of God, and obey it." 

After tliis talk the people thought more of him than ever, and 
followed him in great crowds. There was not a day of rest for 
him, and he could hardly get time to eat his food. 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 



79 



TWO WONDERFUL DAYS 

His mother and some of his friends became anxious for fear he 
would get sick working so hard and taking so little rest. One 
day they tried to push through the crowd to speak to him about it. 
Some one told Jesus that his mother and brothers were trying to 
speak to him, but he said, " Who is my mother, and who are my 
brothers ? " Then pointing to his disciples, he said, '^ Behold 
my mother and my brothers." He did not mean that he did not 
love his mother any longer ; for we know that he loved her very 
dearly. He meant that it would be wrong for him to give up his 




Jesus teaching from a Boat 



work even for the sake of such a dear friend as his mother. He 
meant that others needed him more than she did ; and that he 
must love and work for them as much as a man would love and 
work for his nearest friends. 



80 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 



So he went on from one city to another, helphig people's souls 
and bodies. If he were near the lake, when men and women 
crowded to hear him, he often stepped into a boat, as he did that 
other day, and pushed out a little w^ay from the shore. There 
he would sit and teach the people who stood on the bank much 
more easily than he could when standing among them. 

One of his favorite ways of teaching was by parable, that is, 
by a sort of story. He often explained to his disciples what the 

story meant, even wdien 
I " he left it for other peo- 

ple to guess. This is 
one of his parables. 

A sower w^ent out to 
sow his seed, and as he 
sowed some of the seed 
fell l)y the side of the 
path, and the birds came 
and ate them up. Some 
fell on stony places. 
These sprang up very 
soon, because the earth 
was not deep ; but when 
the sun came up they 
were scorched, and l^e- 
cause they had no root 
they withered away. 
And some of the seed 
fell among thorns, and 
the thorns grew up 
and choked them. But others fell into good ground and bore 
fruit, thirty, sixty, or one hundred times as much as was 
planted. 




A Sower 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 



81 



The disciples asked him to tell them what this parable meant, 
and this is the way he explained it : — 

'' I am the sower ; the lessons I try to teach are the seed ; 
the people are the ground. When I said that some of the seed 
fell by the side of the ^ 
path, I meant that some 
of the people hear with 
their ears, but do not 
think enough about my 
words to learn them, 
and do not try to under- 
stand them. So, very 
soon, the wicked spirit, 
who is always watching, 
whispers other thoughts 
into their minds. The 
good lessons are forgot- 
ten, and cannot grow 
and bear fruit. 

" The stony groimd 
hearers understand my 
teachings, and try to 
obey them for a time. 

But they are not brave enough to keep on trying when it is 
hard to do right, or some one makes fun of them. 

'^ The thorns are those whose minds are so filled with their 
work or play, with getting money or having a good time, that 
thoughts of God and what he wants them to do are almost 
crowded out. 

'^ The good ground hearers are those who try all the time to 
know and do what is right, and the more they know and the 
more they do, the happier and the more useful they become." 




Parable of Sower 



82 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 



Here is another parable that Jesus told them about this time : 

" The kingdom of heaven is like a man' who sowed good seed 

in his field. At night, when everybody was asleep, an enemy 

(some one who did not 
like him) came and 
sowed tares among the 
wheat, and went away 
quietly, without being 
seen. 

" Tares are weeds 
which look \qvy much 
like wheat until the 
seeds are ripe. There 
is a little difference, but 
one has to look care- 
fully to see it. But the 
seed is very bad ; it is 
almost poisonous. If it 
is picked and mixed 
with the wheat it makes 
the people who eat it 
sick. 

" When it was time 
for the young plants to 
show, the servants noticed that some were a little different from 
the rest. They looked closely, and found that they were tares. 
They went to their master, and said : ' Sir, did you not sow good 
seed in your field ? How is it that there are tares there ? ' He 
answered, ' An enemy has done it.' ' Shall we go and gather 
them up ? ' asked the servants. But he answered : ' No, for fear 
that if you try to gather the tares you will root up some of the 
wheat also. Let both grow together until the harvest time. 




Sowing Tares while Others Slept 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 88 

Then I will say to the reapers, Gather together the tares firsts 
bind them in bundles and burn them ; but gather the wheat into 
my barn.' " 

In this parable the man who sowed the wheat is God ; the 
enemy is Satan, that wicked spirit who tempted even Jesus ; our 
thoughts are the seed ; the harvest is the end of the world. 
Whatever we think that ' is good is a wheat seed which God has 
planted; a naughty thought is a seed sowed by Satan. If we 
allow the good seed to grow, God will love us and take us to his 
home in heaven when we die. But if we allow Satan's seed to 
grow, we must be punished, just as the tares were burned. 

Jesus spoke other parables. One was about a small seed 
being planted, and a big tree growing from it. Another was 
about a little yeast being put into the middle of a pan of flour 
and working its way through the whole mass of dough. These 
show what great things may come from little beginnings. We 
do not know how much good a little act of kindness, even a kind 
word or smile, may do some one who wants just that thing. 

Here is another parable that Jesus did not explain to his 
hearers, and which perhaps you can think out for yourselves, 
^' The kingdom of heaven is like a merchantman looking every- 
where for good pearls. When he had found one pearl of great 
price, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it." 

All these and many other parables Jesus spoke to the people 
one day as he was sitting in the fishing boat on the Sea of Galilee, 
He taught all day, and when evening came he was tired. ''Let 
us cross over to the other side of the lake," said he to his dis- 
ciples. They were glad to do as he wished. 

It was pleasant weather when they started, but before they 
had been out very long the clouds began to gather. Fishermen 
on this lake do not like to see clouds look as these did, for they 
mean high wind, and a storm that comes very quickly. These 



84 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 



fisherman disciples of Jesus knew what the danger was, and got 
their boat ready to stand the wind and rain as best she could. 

Jesus was so tired that he laid his head on a pillow that some 
one had placed in the stern of the boat, and went to sleep soon 

after they started. The 
storm came nearer and 
nearer; at last it was 
upon them in all its 
strength. The rain poured, 
the wind blew a gale, the 
waves dashed over the 
sides of the boat. Jesus 
slept quietly on, and his 
apostles, knowing how tired 
he was, did not wake him. 
They kept at w^ork, doing 
all they could to save his 
life and their own. 

The water becran to fill 
the boat; it seemed as if 
they nuist all drown. Still 
Jesus did not wake. At 
last, so frightened that they 
did not know what else to 
do, the disciples touched their Lord, and said, '' Master, do you not 
care whether we drown or not?" Jesus awoke, not in the least 
frightened, and said, ''Can you not trust me yet?" Then he 
rose, and, looking over the troubled water, he said to the waves, 
"Peace, be still." In a moment the winds had stopped blowang, 
the water was perfectly quiet. 

The disciples, even though they had seen their Master do 
many wonderful things, were surprised at the sudden change in 




Peace, be Still' 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 85 

the weather. " What kind of a man is this," said they, " that 
even the winds and the waves obey him ?" 

The storm was over, and they were soon across the lake. 
They had no sooner stepped on the shore than they were met 
by two demoniacs, or insane men, who lived among the caves 
and rocks on the shore. Insanity had made one of these men 
dangerous. He was wild, and no one could tame him. Many 
times he had been tied with ropes and chains, but he had worked 
on them until he had broken them apart. He wandered among 
the caves night and day, screaming and cutting his body with 
stones. He was naked, for he had torn his clothes all to pieces. 

When this man saw Jesus coming, even when he was far off, 
he began to cry : " What have I to do with you, Jesus, Son of the 
most high God ? Do not trouble me." The Saviour said, " Come 
out of the man, you unclean spirit." He then asked the man 
what his name was. He was not yet in his right mind, and 
still talked about the many evil spirits that were living in him. 

He asked Jesus to send them out of him into some pigs that 
were feeding on the shore of the lake. There were about two 
thousand in this herd, and just then the whole herd ran down the 
bank into the sea, and were drowned. The men and boys that 
were taking care of them started in every direction to tell 
every one in the city and in the country what had happened. 

People wanted to know if their story was true, and hurried 
to the shore to find out for themselves. There they found the 
demoniac, of whom every one had been afraid, sitting by the 
Saviour, clothed and in his right mind. They were not afraid 
of him now, for he was like themselves. But they were afraid 
of the man who could make the evil spirits obey him, and so 
they begged Jesus not to stay with them any longer, but. to go 
back to his own country. Think what they lost ! For Jesus 
stepped into the boat again, and did what they asked. 



86 A CHLLDS STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

The man whom he had just cured wanted to go w^ith him, but 
the Master said, '- No, go back to your friends and tell them what 
great things the Lord has done for you." The man obeyed, and 
he, who a few hours before was wild and dangerous, went through 
all the cities telling that Jesus had made him well. 

The Christ and his apostles crossed the lake again to Caper- 
naum, where they found men and women waiting on the shore, 
glad to see them back. He taught them as usual, there by the 
seaside. 

While he Avas speaking to them, a ruler of the synagogue, 
named Jairus, begged hhn to go home w^ith him as quickly as 
he could, and save his only daugliter, who was dying. She was 
twelve years old. '^ My little daughter is just alive," cried the 
sorrowing father. '^ I pray you to come and lay your hands on 
her that she may be made well." Jesus went with him, but the 
people, not willing to lose sight of him, followed very closely 
behind them. 

Before they reached the house a servant came to Jairus and 
said : '^ Your daus^hter is dead. Do not trouble the Master." 
Jesus overheard what he said, and, turning to the sorrowing 
father, he comforted him. " Do not be afraid," said he ; " only 
trust me and she will be made well." 

The whole company moved on toward the house of Jairus, 
and as they drew near they heard the noise of people groaning 
and crying aloud. They were mourning for the little girl who had 
died, in the way the people of that country do even now. Tliey 
think that the greater the noise the more will people think they 
loved the child they have lost. 

Jesus stepped into the house, followed by Peter, James, and 
John, the only ones of the company whom he w^ould allow to go 
in with him. Then they and the father and the mother of the 
girl went into the room where she Avas lying. They found it 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 



87 



filled with the mourning people, and Jesus said to them : " Why 
•do you cry, and make so much noise ? She is not dead, she is 
sleeping." They thought he did not know what he was talking 
about, and laughed at him. 

Jesus sent out of the room all but the father and mother, and 
his three disciples. Then, going over to the bed where the child 
lay, he took hold of her 
liand and said, " Little ^ 
maid, arise." The little ^'^ 
girl opened her eyes and 
iDegan to move. Then 
she got up and went to 
Tier mother. Jesus told 
the astonished parents 
to give her something 
to eat, and left the 
house with his disciples. 

While he was on his 
way to the house of 
Jairus another wonder- 
ful thing had happened. 
A woman who had been 
:sick for twelve years 
was in the crowd. She 
had been to very many 
■doctors, and had spent 
all her money in trying to find something that w^ould make her 
well. Yet she had been growing worse every day. The doctors 
of that time and in that country were not as good as those who 
take care of us when we are sick, but very likely this was a 
trouble that no one could cure, even though he had been a very 
wise and learned doctor. 




Jairus' Daughter 



88 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

Somebody had told her that Jesus of Nazareth could cure any 
kind of sickness, and she was following to see if he could help 
her. There was something in his looks that made her trust him. 
" If I can but touch his clothes," said she, ^* I shall be well." So 
she worked her way through the crowd till she was close behind 
the Saviour, and then she put out her hand and touched his 
clothes. Although in her modesty and her fear that the mighty 
Teacher would be displeased with her, she only touched the hem^ 
or fringe, at the bottom of his long robe, that touch cured her. 

She stepped back into the crowd, and would have gone 
quietly away had not Jesus turned around and asked, " Who 
touched me ? " Peter and the rest of the disciples said : '^ Master, 
the people are all crowding around you and pressing you. Why 
do you ask which touched you ? " But Jesus said, " Some one 
has touched me purposely, and has been made well ; " and he 
looked about at those near him. 

The woman, feeling that he was looking at her, came trem- 
bling and fell at his feet. Then, before all those people, she told 
him wdiy she had touched him, and how she had been made well 
as soon as she put her hand on his clothes. Was Jesus displeased 
that she chose that way of being helped ? Hear what he said to 
her, '^ Daughter, it was your faith that made you well ; go in 
peace, and be free from your trouble." She went away well, and 
was never troubled again with that sickness, and Jesus went on 
to Jairus' house, as we have been reading. 

Two blind men followed him from the house of Jairus, but he 
did not stop to give them sight, nor pay any attention to them, 
although they called to him again and again, " Jesus, Son of 
David, have pity on us." They followed him even to the house 
where he was staying, and at last Jesus stopped and turned to 
them. "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" he asked. 
" YeSj Lord," answered both at once. 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 



89' 



The Saviour touched their eyes, saying, '• I will cure you 
because you believe that I can." Tlieir eyes were opened, and 
when the poor men left Jesus they could see. 

Jesus did these miracles, not because he wanted to win praise 
from men, but because 

he loved to help those T 

who needed him. He 
healed their bodies that 
he might win their 
love. What he had told 
Jairus he repeated to 
the men, " See that no 
one knows of it." Not 
one of them did as he 
asked ; they all went 
out and told the story 
of what the Saviour 
had done for them to 
every one they met. 

After giving sight 
to the blind man that 
day, a dumb man was 
brought to the house. 
He was not dumb after 
Jesus had spoken to 

him, for Jesus cured him. The crowd who had followed Jesus 
about all day were ready to worship him now. They said, 
'' Such things were never seen before in the land." But the 
Pharisees tried again to make them think that he was not good, 
but that he was able to do such things only because Satan gave 
him the power. 

The long day had come to an end at last ; and as the disciples- 




Healing of a Blind Man 



90 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

rested at its close, they thought of all that had happened smce 
the evenmg before. They thought of the dreadful storm on the 
lake that Jesus had so easily quieted; of the two demoniacs who 
met them on the other side, especially of the one who looked so 
fierce and wild till Jesus had calmed him as he did the angry sea. 
Then there came into their minds the pleasant trip back across 
the lake, the joyful welcome of the people, the great joy of the 
woman who had been healed, and the sorrow of Jairus, which had 
been turned into joy when the Saviour gave him back his daughter. 
They remembered the happy faces of the two blind men who had 
received sight, and of the dumb man who went away talking. 
Was it not a busy day ? 

THE LAST MIXISTRY IN GALILEE 

Yet most of the days now were just as busy. From morning 
till night Jesus went about the cities and villages, teaching in the 
synagogues, preaching to the people wherever they would come to 
hear him, and curing every kind of disease. He had hundreds of 
friends now ; he was the most noted Rabbi that had ever been 
known ; for what other one could do such wonders ? Twice he 
had even brought back to life those who were dead, and that was 
the most wonderful of alL One or two of the greatest and best 
beloved prophets in the Old Testament times had done this, but 
in such a different way ! They prayed to God for the power to 
work the miracle, as if for a favor ; Jesus raised the dead by his 
•own power, for he was the son of God. 

Would not the people of Nazareth, who had tried to kill him 
the last time he was there, be glad to hear him, now that he had 
■so many friends ? He had a great interest in the people with 
whom he had lived so many years. He was neither angry with 
them, nor afraid of them ; and knowing that he could make their 
lives happier if they would only let him, he longed to help them. 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 



91 



So one day he went to Nazareth and taught in the synagogue. 
He taught so well that all who heard him were astonished ; they 
could not help seeing 

bow great a man he ^%| 

was, yet they would Jf^f^ 

not believe that he was 
the Christ whom the 1 » . 

prophets foretold. The / ^ 

old question came up 
again : ^' Where did he 
learn so much? How 
can he do such wonder- 
ful things ? Is he not 
the carpenter, the son 
of Mary? Do we not 
know all his family ? " 
Jesus wondered why 
they would not believe 
in him, but he could 
not help them very 
much when they felt 
like this, and so he left 

them, never to go back to Nazareth again, 
for they would not trust him. 

As he went through one village of Galilee after another, and 
saw so many people needing to be taught, they seemed to him 
like sheep without a shepherd. He said to his disciples : '^ There 
is plenty of work to be done but there are not many workers. 
You, my apostles, must go out by yourselves now and work as 
you have seen me work. Do not go yet among the Samaritans 
or any other people who are not of your own nation. Go only 
among the Jews, and as you go, preach, saj^iug, ' The kingdom of 




Jesus preaching in a Synagogue 



It was of no use 



92 



A CHILD'S STOllY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 



Heaven is here.' God will give you the power to heal the sick, 
cure the lepers, and to raise the dead. You need not take food 
or money or extra clothing with you ; the people among whom 
you work must give you what you need, for one who works de- 

- „ serves to be paid for it. 

When you go into a 
city find some house 
where you will be wel- 
come; if the people re- 
ceive you, well ; if not, 
tliey, not you, will be 
the losers. 

''You will not have 
an easy time doing this 
work ; people will not 
treat the disciples any 
better than they have 
treated the Master ; 
and many men will 
hate you because you 
are my friends, if for 
no other reason. But, 
if they trouble you in 
one city go to another. 
Do not be afraid of any one ; for even if they kill your Jxjdy 
they cannot kill your soul. God takes care of such little crea- 
tures as sparrows ; will he not much more care for you who are 
worth more than all the sparrows put together? So do not l^e 
afraid to let men know that you are my friends, and believe my 
words. Do not try to make your life an easy one ; forget about 
yourselves and think about what others need, and you cannot 
help being happy ; forget others and think of your own needs and 




Mission of the Twelve 



THE MIXISTRY OF THE CHRIST 



93 



you will never be happy." With these words of advice and 
comfort Jesus sent his twelve apostles out into the country to 
do their first work among those sheep who were without a shep- 
herd. They w^ent two by two, so that one could help the other. 

About this time Herod heard of the work Jesus was doings 
and was afraid. There is a saying, " A guilty conscience makes 
cowards of us all," and this is what was the matter with Herod 




A King's Feast 



now. His conscience was troubling him, and that is why he 
trembled when he heard of the preacher who could make disease 
or nature or death obey him. Herod did w^rong w^ien he shut 
John the Baptist in prison, but since that time he had done some- 
thing even more wicked. ^ 

When his birthday came around he celebrated it by inviting 
a large party of the lords and nobles of the land to his palace. 
His niece Salome helped to entertain the guests by dancing, and 
Herod was so pleased with the w^ay she did it that he praised her, 



94 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 




and without stopping to think what it might mean, said, " You 
may ask for anything you want, and I will give it to you." 

What would you have chosen ? Not what this girl did, I am 
sure. She did not decide herself, but ran out of the room to talk 
it over with her mother. Now this would have been a wise plan 

if Herodias had been a 
good mother, but she 
was not. She was a 
ver}^ wucked woman ; it 
was to please her that 
John the Baptist had 
been put into prison, but 
even this punishment 
had not satisfied the 
cruel woman. She had 
never forgiven John for 
what he had said to 
Herod about her, and 
she had tried ever since 
to have him put to death. 
There were two reasons 
why Herod would not 
do this. He was afraid 
of the people, who 
thought John was a 



John the Baptist in Prison 



prophet, and he himself 
had learned to like John. Now her chance had come. Without 
a moment's thought slie said to Salome, '^ Tell Herod that you 
want the head of John the Baptist brought to you on a platter." 
The g;irl went back to Herod and told him what she had decided 
to have. 

Now when he heard what she had chosen he was sorry that 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 95 

he had made such an unwise promise ; but be would not break 
it. before all these people. So he seut to tbe prison, had Jobn 
put to death, and gave the girl what she asked for. Salome took 
the gift to her mother. 

Herod had been unhappy and troubled ever since that day, 
for he knewthathe did WTong in allowing this good man to be killed. 
Now when he heard of the wonderful Rabbi who w^as going about 
the country healing the sick and raising the dead, he w^as afraid. 
'' Who is this of whom I hear such things?" he said. "1 killed 
John the Baptist, but it must be that he has risen from the dead 
and is doing all these great works." He wanted to see the Rabbi, 
to know if his fears w^ere true. 

Jesus soon heard the sad news of the death of John, for some 
of John's disciples came to tell him about it, and to tell him also 
that Herod w^as asking about him. Because of these things Jesus 
did not stay longer in that part of Galilee, but went again to 
Capernaum. There he met the apostles who had come back to 
report to their Master wdiat they had been doing, and what suc- 
cess they had had. 

They were all tired and needed rest, but at Capernaum so 
many people were coming and going all the time that they could 
hardly find time even to eat. So Jesus said to the twelve, '^ Come 
apart by ourselves into some quiet place and rest awhile." With 
joy they sailed away, thinking that as no one knew where they 
were going they could find a place where they could be alone by 
themselves. They had missed their Master so much, and they 
had so much to talk about, and so many questions to ask ! 

But some of the people on the bank, who had heard Jesus 
speak, w^atclied to see in what direction the boat went. Toward 
the northeast ! They knew a lovely spot in Bethsaida, a lake 
town about six miles from Capernaum, and made up their minds 
that that was the quiet place Avhicli the Rabbi had chosen. Fol- 



96 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

lowing the shore, men, women, and children ran to Bethsaida, and 
when the Master and his disciples reached the place they fomid 
the crowd there waiting for him. 

It seemed selfish in the people to do this, for Jesus and his 
friends needed a rest. But did the Master find fault with them 
or send them away? no ! They were some of the sheep with- 
out a shepherd, and as long as the day lasted he taught them all, 
and helped those who needed healing. How interested every one 
was in him ! None of them thought of leaving as long as they 
could hear tliis great teacher talk! Evening came on, yet they 
showed no signs of going. 

At last the twelve came to Jesus and said : " Master, send the 
people away that they may go into the towns and country round 
about for a place to sleep and to buy food. They can get notliiug 
here, for we are in a desert place." Jesus answered, '' They need 
not go away ; we will give them something to eat." Turning to 
Philip he said, '' Where shall we buy bread that these may eat ? " 
Philip answered, '^ Two hundred pennyw^orth of bread is not 
enough for every one to have a little." This would be about 
thirty dollars in our money, and as Jesus and his disciples were 
poor men, thirty dollars seemed to them a great deal of money. 
They did not know what to do. 

" Master," said one, " shall we go and buy bread enough for 
them to eat ? " Jesus asked, " How many loaves have you here ? " 
Peter answered, ^^ Here is a boy who lias five barley loaves and 
two small fishes ; but what are they among so many ? " The 
loaves were thin cakes, something like our crackers, made of 
barley meal, and baked so hard that they were broken instead of 
being cut. 

Jesus said, '' Make the men sit down on the grass in groups of 
fifty and one hundred." This was done, and it was found that there 
were five thousand men, besides the women and children. It was 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 



97 



springtime, and as the people in their bright-colored dress sat in 
groups on the fresh green grass, they must have looked very pretty. 

Then Jesus took the five loaves and the two fishes, and, look- 
ing up to heaven, gave thanks. Then he broke them into pieces, 
and gave them to his 

disciples. What should ] 

they do v^ith them ? 
Pass them around as 
far as they went ? They 
had seen their Master 
do so many wonderful 
things that they did 
not stop to question 
him now, but began 
to serve those who 
were seated. And they 
kept on serving them 
till every one of that 
great company, men, 
women, and children, 
had eaten all he wanted 
both of the bread and 
of the fish. 

When everyone was 
satisfied, the apostles 

gathered up the food that was left. Even now there was more 
than there was in the beginning, for each one of the twelve had 
enough to fill his own basket. These w^ere the baskets they 
carried with them all the time for their own food. 

What did the crowd who had seen this great miracle think ? 
Many of them had heard wonderful stories of what this Rabbi 
could do ; many of them had seen what he had done, and been 




Feeding of the Five Thousand 



98 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

cured by him ; but this seemed to them the greatest work of all. 
Five thousand and more people fed with only five loaves and two 
small fishes ! Could any one but the Son of God do that ? They 
became very much excited, and began to shout : '' This is he 
whom the prophets foretold ! Our king has come ! Jesus is our 
king, and we will make him king now ! " 

Jesus knew that they must be quieted at once, for it would 
bring trouble both to him and to them should the Roman Em- 
peror hear of any such plan. In one way they were right ; he 
was the king the prophets foretold ; but he could not make them 
understand that he was not their kind of a king. He had not 
come to help them fight battles, or to sit on a throne in Palestine 
and have men obey him. He had come to teach men that such 
things do not bring happiness, that their own wicked thoughts 
and habits were the enemies they ought to fight, and that the 
way to serve him best was to do the will of his Father. 

And so, while men were still shouting, '' We will make him 
king," Jesus told his disciples to get into their boat, sail to the 
other side of the lake, and wait for him there. He w^ould stay 
behind and send the people aw^ay. Later he would go with them 
to Capernaum. 

The disciples were disappointed. How different the day had 
been from what they had expected ! And now it was very hard 
to be sent away by themselves, while their Master stayed behind 
with these excited people. They did not Avant to leave him ; but 
he said, "Go," and they obeyed. 

It was not long before Jesus had sent away the people, aiid,. 
tired and sad, he went up into the mountain to pray. He knew 
that he could not trust these people. They had wanted to crown 
him king to-day because he had done something that pleased 
them. To-morrow they Avould be just as ready to join the 
Pharisees in treating him badly. They were willing to be 



THE MIXISTRY OF THE CHRIST 



99 




helped by him, and they enjoyed seeing him work miracles, 
but they would not try to understand him. From his Father 
only could he get strength to keep on with his work, and there 
on that mountain top he prayed for that strength. 

Very early in the morning a storm came up, and he thought 
of his twelve friends out in the boat. Were they in trouble as 

they were that other 

night not so very long 
ago ? If they were, 
they needed him ; he 
would go to them. 

The boat Avas now 
in the middle of the 
lake, tossed about by 
the waves. The wind 
was against them, and 
the disciples could not 
cross the lake, though 
they were rowing as 
hard as they could. 

About three or four 
o'clock in the morn- 
ing they saw sometliing 
coming toward them 
that looked like the 
form of a man walk- 
ing on the water. The 

form came nearer and nearer. What was it ? A spirit ? They 
were afraid, and cried out. But hark! What did they hear? 
A voice, which sounded like the one they had learned to know 
and love so well, saying, " It is I, be not afraid." They thought 
it must be the Master whom they saw, and Peter called out, 

LofC. 




Jesus walking on the Water 



100 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 




■^' Lord, if it is you, tell me to come to you on the water." Jesus 
^aid, '' Come," and Peter stepped out of the boat. He, too, walked 
z> little way on the sea ; but instead of keeping his eyes on the 
Lord, he began to look down at the waves. how high and 
angry they looked ! He was afraid to take another step, and, 

beginning to sink, he cried out, 
" Master, save me." 

Jesus stretched out his hand and 
caught him, saying, " Why have you 
so little faith in me? ^Why could 
you not trust me ? " And he led 
him to the boat. When they were 
b(jth there the wind stopped l^low- 
ing. Then all who were on board 
came and fell down at the feet of 
the Christ, and said, '' Truly you are 
the Son of God." 

They rowed to the shore of Gen- 
nesaret, and very soon after they 
landed it was known by everybody 
near that tliey were there. People 
carried about in beds those who were 
sick ; they even laid the sick in the 
streets of the villages, and begged 
Jesus to let them touch the hem of 
his garment. As many as did this 
were cured. 

When the five thousand had 
been sent away without being allowed to carry out their plan 
of making him king, many of them went to their homes disap- 
pointed and angry with him. There were some, though, who 
rspent the night in the valley. In the morning these men looked 



Jesus and Peter 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 101 

ihere and there to find the Rabbi. They thought he could not be 
far away, for they had seen his apostles sail away without hini; 
.and later on had seen Jesus going up the mountain alone. 

But after looking about for some time without finding him, 
rthey decided to go across to Capernaum. Taking other boats 
which had come to shore during the night, they crossed the lake. 
What was their surprise when they got to Capernaum to find 
Jesus there teaching and curing the sick as if nothing had hap- 
pened. '' Rabbi, when did you come across ? " was their morning 
greeting; and they seemed very glad to see him again. 

Jesus did not answer their question; he knew why they were 
so pleased to find him here, and said : '^ You are following me 
about not because you want to learn of me, but because you ate 
of the loaves and fishes which I gave you. Yet how much better 
it would be if you wanted to be with me to learn of those things 
which would make your lives so much better and happier. The 
loaves and fishes which I gave did not satisfy you very long, but 
I can fill your hearts w^ith that which will satisfy you forever." 

In the synagogue at Capernaum he taught the same lesson, 
for every one had heard how he fed five thousand people with five 
loaves and two fishes, and were talking about it. As Jesus spoke 
to them about doing God's work, some one asked : '' What is 
God's work ? What can we do to please him ? " Jesus answered, 
•^Believe on the one God has sent to you." 

Some one else said : '^ Give us a sign that God sent you, if 
you want us to believe you. Long years ago, when Moses led 
our fathers out ' of Egypt to their own country, he gave them 
bread from heaven to eat, and so they knew that he was sent 
by God." Jesus answered: "My Father gives you the true bread 
from heaven, for the Bread of God is he who has come down 
from heaven to give light to the world." But his hearers did 
not understand what he meant. 



102 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 



"I am the Bread of Life," said Jesus. "He that comes to 
me shall never grow hungry, and he that believes on me shall 
never be thirsty. But you will not come to me ; you will not 
believe me though I came down from heaven, and though I have 
done what my Father wanted, not what I myself wished. Every 

one who believes me 
shall have the life that 
goes on forever." 

Jesus meant by hun- 
ger and thirst that 
great longing to be 
good, and to love God, 
of wdiicli he spoke in 
the Beatitudes, you re- 
member. But the Jews 
did not understand him, 
and they began to mut- 
ter, and again came the 
old question : '^ Is not 
this Jesus the son of 
Joseph, whose father 
and mother we knoAV ? 
How is it that he says 
' I came down from 
heaven ' ? " 

This and other tliing^s 
that Jesus taught were very hard for the people to understand, 
and many, even of those who had been willing to be called his 
disciples, would have no more to do with him. Jesus turned to 
his twelve dearest friends, and said, '^Will you also go away?" 
Peter answered for them all : " Where shall we go ? No one else 
can teach us as you can, and we are sure that you are the Son 




The Bread of Life 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 103 

of God." Then Jesus said, " And yet even one of my twelve 
•chosen apostles is not a true friend." He meant Judas, for he 
knew that he did not truly love him. 

About this time soine of the Pharisees came to Jesus to 
■complain of what seemed to them a great fault. It was a 
Jewish custom, which had been followed years and years, to 
wash the hands before eating. We have seen that they needed 
to be sure that their hands were clean, because they must touch 
the food that the others were to eat. But that was not what the 
Jews meant by this washing of the hands. They did it as a sign 
to show that their hearts were washed as clean from sin as their 
hands were washed by the water. 

We know that God told them to do a good many things in 
just this way, as signs that their sins were forgiven ; the sacri- 
fices and the burning of the incense were signs. But this was 
not one of the things which God had told them about. It was 
something that their teachers thought they should do. Water was 
scarce, but, even if they had to go a long way to get it, they must 
not eat without washing their hands ; if there was not enough water 
for both washing and drinking, they must go without drinking. 

These men saw the apostles eating without first washing their 
hands in this way ; so they came to Jesus and said : " Why do 
not your disciples keep the laws of our elders ? They eat without 
washing their hands." Jesus said: ^^ Why do you not keep the 
laws of your God, instead of putting the laws of men above God's 
laws ? Yours is not true worship, for you honor men more than 
you honor God." He did not mean that the Jews were wrong 
in washing their hands, but that it was wrong to think more 
about that than about keeping their hearts really clean. 

After saying this to the Pharisees, he turned to the people 
standing near, and said, " Not that which goes into the mouth 
makes a man unclean, but that which comes out of the mouth." 



104 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

He explained this later : It is not what we eat and drink whicb 
makes us wicked, but the bad words and wicked thoughts and 
actions which come from the heart. 

The answer which the Christ gave to these Pharisees made 
them more angi^y than ever ; they went away decided that some- 
thing must be done at once to stop this man's teaching, and they 
did all they could to turn other people against him. This was 
not so hard to do as it would have been a little while before, for 
a good many were greatly disappointed that he was not willing, 
to be made their king a few days before. 

THE CHRIST IN RETIREMENT 

So many people were now unfriendly to Jesus that it seemed 
best for him to leave the country for a while ; so with his disci- 
ples he travelled to Phoenicia, a country north of Galilee, where 
the people were not Jews. The Jews were very proud of their 
race, and called every one who was not a Jew a " Gentile." Some- 
times they spoke of them as " Gentile dogs " ; and they thought 
that they were of very little account. 

Into this Gentile country Jesus and his disciples went, think- 
ing that perhaps here they could get the rest they so much needed. 
They went into a house, hoping that no one would know that they 
were there. But the Saviour could not be hid. A woman wha 
lived there had in some way heard that the one who worked such 
miracles among the Jews was now in her country. 

She had a daughter at home who was no comfort to her, for 
she was insane. So the mother came to the Christ, and, falling- 
at his feet, said, ^' Lord, Son of David, have pity on me ; my 
daughter is very ill." But Jesus paid no attention to her. The 
apostles grew tired of hearing her call, and asked their Master ta 
help her and send her away. Said he, "My work is only among 
the Jews; she is not a Jew." 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 



105> 



The woman heard what Jesus said. To be sure she was not 
a Jew ; the Jews would call her, perhaps, a Gentile dog. Yet she 
needed help and must have it. Coming nearer she cried, ^'Lord, 
help me." " It is not right to take the children's meat and give 
it to dogs," said Jesus. '' True, Lord," the woman answered f 
^' but the dogs eat of the 
crumbs which fall from 
their master's table." 

Her answer pleased 
the Saviour. Here was 
a Avoman too much in 
earnest to be discour- 
aged when he seemed 
unwilling to help her. 
She trusted him through 
it all, and that trust 
gave her what she 
w^anted. Jesus said to 
her : " woman, great 
is your faith. I will 
give you what you ask." 
Aud from that hour her 
daughter was well. 

After a few days 
Jesus and his disciples 
left this part of the 
country and went to another, near the Sea of Galilee, though still 
among the Gentiles. There they went up into a mountain and 
sat down. The people had never seen Jesus before, yet somehow 
they knew that here was a man different from any one else they 
had ever seen. Great crowds came to him, bringing with them 
all their friends that were not well. There were lame, blind^ 




The Syrophoenician Woman 



106 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

dumb, and deformed, and many others, and Jesus healed them 
all; 

These Gentile people who had never seen the Christ's mir- 
acles before, wondered very much at what they saw when Jesus 
made the lame men walk, gave those wlio were blind their sight, 
and made those who were deformed straight and strong like other 
people, and they praised the God of the Jews, who could help men 
to do much more wonderful thino[;s than their heathen o:ods ever 

O C5 

did for them. Some even thought tliat Jesus was himself the 
God of the Jews, and they were not very far from right, for he 
was the son of God, and the Saviour of the world. 

One man who was brought to the Saviour was both deaf and 
•dumb. Jesus took this man away from the rest of the people ; 
he put his fingers in the deaf ears, then spat and touched the 
tongue that could not speak. " Be opened," he said ; and at once 
both ear and tongue obeyed him; the man could hear and talk. 
Jesus asked him and the others he cured, as he had so many 
times asked the Jews, not to tell how they had been made well. 
But the more he asked them to be quiet the more they spread the 
news about. 

For three days the crowds stayed with him, forgetting every- 
thing but the pleasure in being there. At the end of the three 
days Jesus called his disciples, and said to them : '.' I feel sorry 
for these people. They have been with me now for three days, 
and in all this time they have had nothing to eat. If I send 
them away hungry, they will be faint before they reach home, for 
many of them live a long Avay off." 

His disciples must have forgotten just then about the other 
time that Jesus fed thousands of people with just a very little 
food that a boy had with him, for they did not say that he, their 
Master, could feed them, but asked, '^ \Yhere in this mountain 
can we find bread enouo^h to feed so manv ? " 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 



107 



^' How many loaves have you?" asked Jesus. They an- 
swered, '^ Seven loaves, and a few small fishes." The Master 
then commanded the 
people to sit down on 
the grass, took the 
seven loaves and the 
fishes, broke them m 
pieces and gave them 
to his disciples to set 
before the people. 

After every one had 
eaten all he wanted, the 
disciples found that the 
food that was left filled 
seven baskets full. For 
the second time Jesus 
had made a little food 
grow into enough to 
feed thousands of peo- 
ple ; for there were more 
than four thousand fed 
this time. 

When the people 
were satisfied, he sent them away, while he and his disciples went 
down to the shore of the lake. The twelve were not sent away 
by themselves this time ; the Master entered the boat with them, 
and together they set sail for Galilee. 

Jesus loved Galilee, and he longed to be once more with his 
own people and have them friendly to him. He had been away 
for some weeks now, and perhaps he thought they had missed 
him and would be glad to have him with them once again. So 
he and the twelve sailed across the lake to their home land. 




The Feeding of the Four Thousand 



108 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

But no sooner had the boat come to the shore than some of the 
Pharisees met hhn, and told him that if he were the Christ he 
must show some sign to prove it. This Jesus was not willing to 
do. He had proved it to them a great many times, if they had 
been willing to believe him. Asking for a sign from heaven was 
only a way to excuse themselves for not trusting him, after they 
had seen so many of his wonderful works, for they had seen 
enough of his miracles to make them believe what he said, if they 
had not set their hearts against him. 

Jesus could do nothing for people who would not believe him^ 
and so with a sad heart he left them and went again to another 
part of the lake shore. As they were crossing the lake he warned 
his apostles not to trust the Pharisees, and not to believe their 
teaching, for they were deceitful men, and would not allow the 
truth to be told to the people. 

The boat landed at Bethsaida, and as soon as they got to the 
shore a blind man was l^rought to the Saviour. Jesus took the 
man by the hand and led him outside of the viHage, There he 
spat on his eyes and laid his hands on them. Then he asked 
the blind man if he could see anything. " Yes," said the man, 
" I see men, but they look like trees walking." The Saviour 
then touched his eyes again, and told him to look up. He did 
so ; men looked like men now, and everything was clear to the 
eyes that had been blind ; the man could see. Jesus then sent 
him away, saying, '^ Do not go back into the town, and do not 
tell any one in the town what made you see." You rememJjer 
that this was what he told a great many of those he cured. 

Leaving the man, Jesus and his disciples went on their jour- 
ney, travelling toward the north country again. As they walked 
slowly along, talking together by the way, Jesus asked the ques- 
tion, "Whom do men say that I am?" The apostles, while on 
their preaching trip, had heard what people were saying about 



TWO WONDERFUL DAYS 



109 



this famous Rabbi, and they were ready to answer. '' Some say 
yon are John the Baptist," said they, '^and others think that you 
are one of the old prophets come back to life again." " Whom 
do you say that I am?" asked Jesus. Peter anwered, ''You 
are the Christ, the Son of the living G-od." 

This answer made the Master happy. This little band of 
twelve men believed in hmi if no one else did ; and he said : 
'' Simon, you are truly blessed. You have learned this, not from 
what any man has told 



y^^h 



but because the 



Father himself has 
taught you. With 
friends such as you are 
my work will go on, 
even when I am taken 
away from you." 

Then he began to 
talk with the disciples 
of things that made 
them very sad. He 
said that he would not 
be with them very long ; 
that in a short time he 
would go to Jerusalem 
and there would have 
to suffer many things 
from the priests, the 
scribes, and the Phari- 
sees, who were so very 

unkind to him, and were trying so hard to iind some wrong in 
him. ''They will have things their own way, and will kill me/' 
said he, " but on the third day 1 ^\\\\ rise again." 




Peter's Confession 



110 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

It made the apostles very unhappy to hear such sad news. 
Must their dear Master leave them m that way and never be their 
king? Could he not save himself from harm? Peter who was 
very apt to speak without thinking, said, '^ Lord, this shall never 
happen to you." I>ut Jesus knew more about it than Peter did ; 
he knew that these things must be ; that, though he was king, 
his throne was in the hearts of men, not in Jerusalem, and that 
only by his death could he be the Lamb of God, and take away 
the sins of the world. It was not pleasant to think that such a 
f thing could happen, but 

I" he knew that it nuist be, 

I , and that it was right. 

So he turned and 
answered Peter as he 
did the tempter in the 
wilderness : '^ Go away 
from me, Satan. I do 
not like to hear you 
talk so," said he, '' for 
it shows that you want 
to please yourself, and 
that you want to have 
things done in your 
own way, not as God 
wills. I must suffer 
these things, if I do 
I . what is right ; and any 

o. . . . . „ ^ , man who follows me 

Chnst foretells Death 

must do as I have done. 
He must teach what is right and live right, even if, like me, he has 
to lose his life for it. But then it is better to lose one's life than to 
lose one's manhood by doing wrong; for what would a man really 
gain if he should gain the whole world but lose his own soul ? " 




THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 



111 



One evening about a week after this talk with his apostles 
Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him into a high moun- 
tain to pray, leaving 
the rest of them at e^ 

its foot. The disciples ^ " 

finished praying, and ' 

as they waited for their 
Master they began to 
grow sleepy. At last 
their eyes were so 
heavy that they could 
not hold them open ; 
their heads nodded, and 
they fell sound asleep. 

Jesus prayed a long 
time, and as he prayed 
he was transfigured be- 
fore them. By that we 
mean that he was alto- 
gether changed in his 
looks. His face shone 
and glistened like the 
sun, and his clothing 

was whiter than any cloth that was ever made 
light of the sun. 

Two men Avere with him, speaking about those 
which he had talked with his disciples : his going to Jerusalem 
and being put to death there. These men were Moses and Elijah. 
Moses, who years before had given to the Jews the ten command- 
ments and their laws ; and Elijah, one of the prophets whom 
they most loved. How the Jews worshipped the memory of 
these men who were now talking with Jesus ! 




The Transfiguration 



as white as the 



things of 



112 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 



'^ 



The bright light, or something, waked Peter, James, and John 
in time to see this glorious sight, and they did not know what to 
make of it. As they looked the forms began to vanish. They 
wanted to hold them back, and Peter, without really knowing 
what he said, called out, " Lord, it is good for us to be here ; let 
us make three tabernacles (or booths), one for you, one for Moses, 

and one for Elijah." 

But even while he 
was speaking they lost 
sight of what had so 
astonished them ; a 
cloud wrapped itself 
about the bright forms, 
and they could be seen 
no more. But hark ! 
did they not hear a 
voice from the clouds? 
Surely they did, and 
the voice said, " This 
is my beloved Son, 
hear him." It was 
the voice of God. 

The disciples were 
so afraid that they 
hid their faces on the 
ground ; but in a mo- 
ment they felt the soft touch of" their Master's hand and heard 
his sweet voice saying to them, '^ Rise, and do not be afraid." 
Lifting up their eyes they saw no man but Jesus only. Moses 
and Elijah were gone, but their Saviour was left them, and the 
Father in heaven had told them to listen to his teachings. 

As they walked down the mountain side the next morning to 




The Transfiguration " Jesus only 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 113 

join the other disciples, Jesus said to them : " Do not tell any one 
what you have seen just now. Wait till I have gone from you, 
then you may tell them." How sorry they were to hear him 
say that ! Why could they not go back to tell the people of 
what they had seen ? One of the reasons the scribes gave for not 
believing in Jesus was that the prophets had foretold that Elijah 
should come before the Christ. Now if they, who had just seen 
Elijah, could tell the scribes that he had come, would they not 
change their minds ? Would they not then believe that their 
Master was the Christ ? 

But the Master knew best, and he said, '' No." He made 
them understand that nothino- would chano-e the minds of the 
scribes ; that John the Baptist was the Elijah who had been 
promised. Yet though he had come and the people had known 
him, they had not believed in him, but had allowed him to be 
put to death. They would treat the Christ in the same way, even 
if the disciples should tell what they had seen. So Jesus said, 
^^ Tell no one until after my death." 

As they got to the foot of the mountain they found the other 
disciples in trouble. They were surrounded by a great crowd of 
people who seemed to be very angry and excited, and were talk- 
ing in loud tones. One man among them had his son with 
him : a boy who was not only deaf and dumb, but who had been 
very ill. 

When the father saw Jesus coming he took his boy to him 
and said : " Master, I beg you to help my boy, for he is my 
only child. I have asked your disciples to cure him, but they 
cannot do it." Even while he was talking the boy was taken 
with an ill turn, and fell to the ground, where he lay tossing 
about. 

Jesus asked the father how long he had been in this way, 
and the father answered : " Ever since he was a little child ; and 



114 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 



when he has had these bad spells he has sometmies fallen hi to 
the water, sometimes even into the hre, and I am afraid be will 
be killed. If yon can do anything to help him, will yon not 
do it?" 

Jesus said: ''Do yon trust me? There is nothing I cannot 

do for one who trusts me."" 
" I do trust you," answered 
the father wdth tears in his 
eyes. '^ Help me to trust 
you even more." Then 
Jesus spoke to the boy 
who w^as tossing on the 
ground, and at once his 
body became quiet. He 
lay there so still that the 
people said, '• He is dead " ; 
but Jesus took his hand 
and lifted him up. He 
was not dead, he w^as a 
well boy, neither deaf nor 
dumb, nor unlike other 
children. 

The days Jesus liad 
planned to spend in the 
northern country were now 
over, and once more the 
little band started for the 
south. They travelled through Galilee quietly, without stopping 
to teach or to cure the sick, for Jesus did not w^ant the Pharisees 
to know that he had returned. 

Very soon after they had come to Capernaum a man came to 
the door of the house where they w^ere staying, and asked Peter 




The Demoniac Boy 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 115 

if bis Master was not going to pay the tax. This tax was one 
which the Jews took from their men once a year after they were 
twenty years old. It was taken in the springtime, and the money 
was used to pay some of the expenses of the temple service.- 
Peter at once answered '' Yes," and went into the house to get 
the money. 

Jesus stopped him, and asked him : " What do you think,. 
Simon ? From whom do the kings of the earth take taxes, from, 
their own children or from strangers?" ''From strangers," said 
Peter. ''Then," said Jesus, "the children are free. I do not 
need to pay this tax, for it is money given to God, the King. I 
am the Son of Grod, and need not pay taxes to him. Still, that 
no one may think he has reason to find fault with us, go to the 
seaside and throw out your hook. Catch the first hsh that comes 
up, and when you have opened his mouth you will find a piece of 
money ; take it, and pay the tax for yourself and me." 

While they had been on their way, some of the apostles had? 
talked about who should be the greatest in the Master's kingdom • 
for they believed that Jesus was the promised king of the Jews, 
and they could not think of him as any different from other 
kings. Very many times Jesus had tried to explain it to them, 
but they could not seem to understand that he would rule the 
world through his life and teachings, but never sit on an earthly 
throne. They still hoped that before long he would live in a 
king's palace in Jerusalem, and that they, his twelve most inti- 
mate friends, would be his chief officers. 

Jesus did not seem to notice what they were saying at the 
time, but when they were together in the house at Capernaum he 
asked, " Wbat were you talking about on the way ? " No one- 
wanted to answer him ; they were all ashamed to have him know 
about it, and kept still. But they did not need to answer the- 
question, for Jesus knew what they had been saying. 



116 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

Sitting down, he called them to come around him, and said : 
^' In my kingdom the one who wants to be first of all shall be last 
of all, for not the selfish but the unselfish are the great ones. To 
be great is not to have a high office and make other people serve 
you ; it is to be a servant yourself, to be ready at any time to 
help those who need you." 

He then called a child to him, and when he had taken the 
little one in his arms he said : '' Whoever wants to be great in 
the kingdom of heaven must be like this little child, loving and 
obedient and trustful. This child does what he knows how to do 
without thinking whether he has a high or a low place, and all 
the time he is growing stronger, and better able to fill any place 
which God may give him. This is tlie spirit which every one 
must have who belongs to my kingdom ; for unless you become 
^s little children you cannot enter into it." 

Though Jesus did not go out to work among the people, he 
was not idle in these days. There was so much the twelve 
needed to know before they could do his work, that he spent his 
time in teaching them. Some of the words he said to them are 
very precious to us now. He taught them that the one who did 
a^nything for the love of the Christ would have liis reward in the 
love of his Father in heaven. Even as little a thinsr as g-ivino^ a 
€up of cold water to some one who was thirsty was enough to 
win that love, if they only gave it because they wanted to do 
something for the Christ who had done so much for them. Any 
one, even the youngest and weakest can get this reward, for it is 
not given in return for our doing great things, but in return for 
our great love. And the love of our heavenly Father is the 
greatest reward that any one can have. 

He showed them what a terrible thing it is to make any one 
do wrong, and how carefully we should guard against it. He 
said to them that it would be better for a person to give up every- 



THE MI:N"ISTRY of the CHRIST 117 

thing in this world, rather than to do what was displeasing to 
the heavenly Father. 

He told them that just as a man was glad to find a lamb 
whicli had been lost, even though he had a great many more, so 
the Father was unwilling that any one, even a child, that trusted 
him should be lost. 

Another thing he said to his disciples was that if two or 
three people met together to pray for something they wanted 
very much, he would be there with them, though they could not 
,see him, and would give them wdiat they asked for. Of course 
we must understand that God will not give us something that is 
losid for us just because two or three ask him, any more than a 
^ood father on earth will give his children something that will 
hurt them, even if they all ask for it. Sometimes we think God 
does not answer our prayers, because he does not give us wdiat we 
^sk for. But perhaps what we have been praying for would be 
very bad for us, and the best answer our Father could give us was 
to say ''no." 

After he had told them all these things Peter asked him 
how often he ought to forgive his brother, if he did him wrong. 
■^* Until seven times?" he asked, thinking he had said a great 
many. But Jesus replied, " I do not say ' till seven times,' but 
until seventy times seven." And then he told them this 
parable : — 

The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who began to 
look over the accounts which he kept Avith his servants. One of 
them he found owed him ten thousand talents. That was a 
very, very large sum of money, probably more than twelve mill- 
ion dollars. The servant did not have enough money to pay 
such a bill. So the king commanded that he should be put in 
chains, and that his wife, his children, and all that he had should 
be sold to get the money to pay the debt. 



118 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 



The servant could not bear to think that his family must be 
sold as slaves; he fell down at the king's feet and begged him 
not to do it, saying, '' Lord, if you will have patience with me^ 
I will pay you all that I owe you." He looked so troubled and 
begged so hard that the king had pity on him, and told him 

he need not pay the 
\ debt; he would forgive 

him all he OAved. He 
then commanded the 
officers to let him go 
free. 
^^ Th is sam e man , av hen 

I^^H y'^^llBBBHP^^^Bi^Mt ^^^ ^^'^^ gone away from 

^ * ' ' " ' the king, found another 

who owed him sixteen 
dollars. This man was- 
poor and could not pay 
even so small a sum. 
The king's servant took 
this poor man by the 
throat, and said, ^' Paj 
me what you owe me ! " 
His debtor cried to him 
as he had to the king: 
"If you will be patient 
with me I will pay you 
all." But he would not, and had the man put into prison until 
he could pay the debt. The king's servant had just been forgiven 
a great debt, and had a chance to show a kindness to some one 
else. But he would not. 

Now other servants of the kino; who saw this told their mas- 
ter all about it. When he heard the story he was very angry. 




The Wicked Servant 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 119 

He sent for his servant, and said to him : " you wicked ser- 
vant ! I forgave you all that great debt because I was sorry for 
you. Ouglit you not to have had pity as well on the man who 
owed you ? " Then he ordered his officers to take the man to 
prison, and to keep him there till he paid his debt. 

After telling this story Jesus said, '^ So will my heavenly 
Father do to you if you do not from your hearts forgive those 
Avho wrong you." 

AUTUMN VISITS TO JERUSALEM AND PEREA 

Day after day Jesus spent in this quiet way, training his dis- 
ciples for their work. At last it came time for the Jewish Feast 
of Tabernacles. This was held in Jerusalem, in the autumn, a 
little earlier than our Thanksgiving. It lasted eight days, and 
Avhile it lasted none of the Jews lived in their homes, but made 
for themselves tabernacles, or booths, of the green branches of 
trees. These booths were put up all over the city : on the house- 
tops, in the courts, or in the streets. 

Jesus had not been in Jerusalem now for a year and a half. 
When it was time to go to this feast some of his relatives urged 
him to go with them. " You have disciples there Avho want to 
•see what you are doing," said they. " No one who wants the 
world to know what he is doing does things in secret. If you 
can do such wonderful things as are told of you, you should show 
yourself where every one can see you." Tliey said, '^ If you can," 
for even they, his relatives, did not believe that he was the 
Christ. 

But Jesus was not yet ready to go to the feast, and he told 
them to go without him. ^^ The people do not hate you, for you 
think as they do," said he, " but they do hate me, for I find fault 
with the way they live. The time for me to show myself to the 
people at Jerusalem has not yet come." So they started for 



120 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 



Jerusalem, leaving him behind. A little later, when the right 
time had come, he went to the feast with his disciples. 

The people at the feast were asking : " Where is Jesus ? Is- 
he not coining to the feast ? " Not seeing him they began to talk 
about him among themselves. Some of them said, " He is a- 
good man." " No," said others, '^ he is teaching the people what 
is wrong." His friends did not dare to talk much about him, for 

they Avere afraid of the 
I leaders of the Jews, the 

Pharisees, who hated 
him. 

One day, in the mid- 
dle of the feast, to 
e ve ry one's s u r p r is e ^ 
Jesus walked into the 
temple and began to 
teach. No one knew 
how he got there, but- 
there he was. He talked 
so well that even his 
enemies could not help 
liking to hear him, and 
they wondered how Br 
man who had never 
studied in their schools 
could know so much. 

Jesus heard the ques^ 
tion sand answered thein 
le spoke about the things that he 
in heaven, and that any one that 
knew God must know that his teachings were true. The reason 
why they did not understand him was, he said, because they did 




Jesus Preaching 

himself. He told them that 
had learned from his Father 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 121 

not really know and obey God, even though they made a great- 
show of loving hhn and obeying his laws. 

" If it is God's law which says ' Thou shalt not kill/ why are 
you planning to kill me ? " They were much surprised that he 
should know of their plan to kill him, and tried to make him 
think it was not so. But Jesus knew it was true. 

" I did one good deed which you will never forgive," he said, 
'^ If your priests do work on the Sabbath, in order to be sure 
that the law that Moses gave you is not broken, why are you 
angry with me because I made a man entirely well on the Sab- 
bath ? You call it something very wicked, and yet it was only 
an act of kindness. Why are you not fair to me, and judge me 
by what I really do ? " 

His words astonished those people who knew of the secret 
plans of the Jews, and they asked : " Is not this the man they 
are trying to kill ? How does he dare to say such things to them ?' 
Do the rulers think that he is really the Christ ? But we know 
where this man conies from, and no one is to know where the 
Christ comes from. He cannot be the Christ. And yet when 
the Christ comes will he do more or greater miracles than those 
which this man does ? " 

Many of the people, hearing all that he was saying to them^ 
were ready to believe that he was really their king. "When the 
Christ comes will he do more wonderful things than this man ? '^ 
they asked. The leaders, when they heard the people, thought it 
was time to put a stop to it. 

There were seventy of these leaders who belonged to what was- 
called the Sanhedrin, which was the highest Jewish court. They 
were the ones who kept watch to see that the laws were not 
broken. They arrested any one who did what they thought was 
wrong, and they punished those whom they arrested, unless the 
punishment was to be death. If they wanted to take the life of 



122 A nilLD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF ClIRlsr 

any prisoner tliey must ask the Roman court for permission to do 
so. Almost every man in this Sanhedrin hated Jesus. 

This court sent officers to arrest Jesus. But the Master went 
on talking, though he knew that the officers were only waiting 
for a good chance to take him. They Avere afraid to take him 
when there was a crowd around liim, for the people loved to hear 
liim talk. ''I will be with you only a little longer," said he. 
*• Then 1 will go to hiui who sent me. You will want me then, 
ibut you cannot find me ; for where I am going you cannot come." 
The people wondered what he could mean by this, and asked : 
^' Where will he go that we cannot iind him ? Will he live among 
the Gentiles and teach them?" But he meant that he was scoino; 
to his Father in heaven, and those who hated him could never 
go to live with liiui there. 

Every day, while the feast lasted, Jesus went into the temple 
and taught. There was one part of the service at this feast which 
everyone loved. Early in tlu^ day, before the morning sacrifice, 
a priest went from the tenn)le with a golden pitcher in his hand, 
to the pool of Siloani. This pool was outside the walls of Jeru- 
saleui and the priest went in and out of the gate, called the 
Water Gate, followed by a happy band of worshippers. The 
pitcher held a little more than a quart of water and, when the 
priest had filled it with water from the pool, he marched at 
the head of the gay procession back again to the temple. As 
soon as he entered the temple courts, other priests began to blow 
trumpets; and they kept blowing them until the water had been 
poured into a basin on one side of the altar. At the same time, 
wine was poured into a basin on the opposite side, and everyone 
began to sing the psalms which Avere always sung at that service. 
When they came to the last words, " Give thanks unto the Lord, 
for he is good, for his mercy endureth forever," everyone waved a 
ibranch of palm and willow tied together which he held in his hand. 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 



123 



il 





This was done to remind the people that God had given their nation 
water to drink when they were in the wilderness. 

On the last day of the feast, perhaps just as these things 
were being done, Jesus called out, as he was standing in the 
temple : ''If any man 
is thirsty, let him come 
to me and drink. He 
that believes on me shall 
have living water." He 
meant the same by this 
as he did when he spoke 
in just the same w^ay to 
the woman at the well 
of Samaria. He meant 
the spirit of love and 
>s e r V i c e which God 
would give to all who 
truly loved his Christ. 

Some of the people 
said, " Surely this is 
the Christ," and al- 
though there were many 
who said, " No, he is 
Tiot," there were so 
many who showed their 

liking for him that no one dared to arrest him. Even the officers 
who had been sent to take him felt that he w^as different from 
other men. No one laid hands on him, and he passed out of the 
city into the Mount of Olives, which was a high hill only a little 
way from Jerusalem. 

The officers went back to the Sanhedrin without their pris- 
oner. " Why have you not brought him ? " asked the Pharisees ; 



The Living Water 



124 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

and the officers answered : '' We could not do it ; we never heard 
any one speak as he did." ''Has he deceived you, also ?" .''He 
has not deceived any of us," was the reply of the Pharisees. 

Jesus had one friend among the Sanhedrin, and that w^as Nico- 
demus, the man who came to him in the night-time at the Passover 
feast, two years and a half before. Nicodemus had grown braver 
since that night when Jesus had told him about the new life ; 
he was not afraid to stand up for the great Teacher now, even if 
he were the only one in the Sanhedrin to do so. He said, " Does 
our law judge a man without giving him a trial ? without giving 
him a chance to speak for himself, and tell what he is doing?" 

This question made the other men very angry with Nicode- 
mus, but it broke up the meeting, and every man went to his 
own home. They knew in their hearts that Jesus had not 
broken a single law, and that tliey had no right to arrest him. 
They must give up their plan for a while ; but they made up 
their minds to watch him more carefully, and to arrest him if 
they could possibly find an excuse. 

The next day they brought to him a woman who had broken 
a Jewish law, for which the punishment was stoning to death. 
They asked Jesus what they ought to do with her. They thought 
they had given him a question that was hard to answer, for they 
knew how kind and loving he was, and stoning w^as a cruel death. 
But he said, "Let the one among you who is without sin cast the 
first stone." The Pharisees thought of their wicked lives and one 
by one left the temple. When they were all gone Jesus said to 
the woman, Go and sin no more. 

Jesus spent the night on the Mount of Olives. He loved to 
get away from the noise and the crowd and the close air of the 
city into the pure, fresh air of the hills. It was a great comfort 
to him to be able to go there every night, and still lose none of 
the services at the temple. 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 



125 



The temple always looked very beautiful when the great 
lamps were lighted, and one day of the feast, as the people looked 
with pride on the sight^, Jesus said, '' I am the light of the world ; 
he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have 
the light of life." 

The Pharisees answered, '^ You say that about yourself, but it 
is not true." Then said _ 
Jesus : " It is written in 
your law that if two 
men agree in telling 
the same thing, it is 
trne. I am one that 
says I am the Son of 
God, and the father 
that sent me is another 
that says the same 
thing. So, by your 
own law, the saying 
must be true." 

''Where is your * 
father ? " said they ; and 
Jesus replied : " You 
neither know me nor 
my Father ; if you had 
known me, you would 
have known my Father 
also ; but, because you 

Avill not believe me, you will die without being forgiven for your 
sins." Then they asked, '^ Wlio are you ? " and he answ^ered, 
" Even the same that I said to you in the beginning. When you 
have killed me, then you shall know that I am the Son of God, 
and that I do nothing by myself, but speak those things that the 




The Light of the World 



126 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

Father has taught me. He that sent me is with me ; my Father 
does not leave me alone in my work, for I always do what pleases 
him." 

While he was speaking these words, many began to l)elieve 
that he was telling the truth, and to them Jesus said, " If you 
will only keep on iDelieving what I tell you, I will teach you how 
you can free yourselves from your sins." They did not like to 
be told that they were not free from sins, and, as Jesus went on 
telling them of some of their faults, they became so angry that 
they took up stones to throw at him. But Jesus passed through 
their midst, and walked out of the temple. 

We suppose that Jesus with his disciples went back to Galilee 
for a short time, but they did not stay very long. The Saviour 
had done everything he could for the people there ; he had cured 
the sick, fed the hungry, and given life to the dead. But because 
he was a poor man, and had not made himself the kind of king 
they expected, there were very few people in Galilee who loved 
him and believed that he was the Christ. 

There was another feast in Jerusalem in a few weeks, and he 
travelled toward that city again. He planned to rest awhile in 
Samaria, and sent a messenger ahead to engage rooms for himself 
and his apostles in a Samaritan village. It was two years and a 
half since the woman at the well had asked him, " Where ought 
men to w^orship God, in Mount Gerizmi or at Jerusalem ? " but 
it was still the question that made trouble between Jews and 
Samaritans. Any one who believed that Gerizim was the right 
place of worship was thought to he a friend of the Samaritans, 
and was made welcome to their homes. But they knew that 
Jesus and his friends were on their way to worship at Jerusalem, 
and, for that reason, the messenger could find no one willing to 
give them room. 

How angry this made James and John ! In their anger they 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 



127 



said, " Lord, shall we not call down fire from lieaven and burn 
this city?" But the loving, gentle Saviour, who always forgave 
his enemies, said, " No," and without an unkind word they went 
on to another village. 

As they travelled along he asked one man after another to fol- 
low him, but they made excuses. One man wanted to wait until 

his father died ; another ^ ^ ____„__ 

wanted to go back home 
and say good-by to his 
family. But the Mas- 
ter said that whoever 
became his follower 
must not let anything 
stand between him and 
them. 

One man said, " Yes, 
Lord, I will follow you 
wherever you go." Je- 
sus answered, " The 
foxes have holes, and 
the birds of the air have 
nests, but the Son of 
Man has not where he 
can lay his head." He 
had no home where he 
could take his friends ; 
they must be as poor as he was, if they wanted to be with him 
and do his work. 

There were some men beside the twelve who loved him so 
much that they were willing to do this, and Jesus chose seventy 
of them to go, two by two, as the apostles had gone, into all the 
cities and towns where he planned to go later. He told them as 




Come unto Me 



128 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 



he bad the twelve, to go just as they were, without taking food 
or money or extra clothing. They were to teach the people and 
heal the sick, and those whom they helped must give them the 
things they needed. The seventy men started at once, and Jesus 
and his twelve disciples travelled on, crossing the river Jordan 
into the country called Perea. 

When these men came back to their Master again tliey were 
^ very happy. They had 

much to tell him of the 
way in which they liad 
been able to cure the 
sick, and to help those 
who needed tliem so 
much. 

Wherever he went 
some of the scribes and 
Pharisees followed, ask- 
ing him questions, not 
because they wanted to 
learn from him, but be- 
cause they hoped that 
he would say something 
against either the Ro- 
man or the Jewish 
Law. Then how quickly 
they would arrest him ! 
Jesus knew their plan, 
but it did not troul^le him. He answered all of their C[uestions, 
and did it so wisely that they could find no fault with what he 
said. 

One day one of these scribes, who had studied the law all his 
life, and who felt that he was both wiser and better than Jesus, 




Mission of the Seventy 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 129 

asked, '' Master, what shall I do to get this new life of which you 
teach, — this life that never ends ? " Jesus said, " What is writ- 
ten in the law ? " The scribe knew everything in the law by heart, 
and answered, " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy 
heart and with all thy soul and with all thy strength and with all 
thy mind, and thy neighbor as thyself." 

Jesus said, " You have answered right ; when you do that you 
have begun that life." Then the lawyer asked, '^ And who is my 
neighbor?" Jesus answered this question with a story. 

A certain man Avent down from Jerusalem to Jericho. The 
road between the two places was rough and dangerous. Great 
caves and rocks on the sides of the road made good hiding-places 
for robbers and other wicked men, for from them they could rush 
out at the people who were passing, and rob them. 

This often happened, and as this man was passing along the 
road, the robbers rushed out at him. They fought with him and 
robbed liim of everything he had, even to the most of his clothes. 
Then they left him, cut and bruised and almost naked, lying half 
dead by the side of the road. There the poor man lay, not able to 
do anything to help himself. 

There were a good many Jewish priests living at Jericho, and 
soon one of them came along. Probably he was on his way to or 
from a service at the temple. He could not help seeing the 
wounded man, but he passed by as if he had not seen him, 
crossed to the other side of the road, and kept on his journey. 
He did not even give him a look of pity. 

Soon another Jew came along. He also helped in the temple 
service, and should have been willing to do God's work wherever 
he found it. He, too, saw the man in trouble, but, after looking 
at him for a minute, he went along as the priest had done, with- 
out trying to do anything for the poor man, although he knew 
that he might die if some one did not help him. 



130 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 



Before long a Samaritan came riding by. As he drew near lie 
gaw the man lying there by the side of the road, helpless. He 
knew that he was a Jew, and that probably he hated his race ; 

but he felt sorry for him 
I because he was in such 

I trouble. 

Going up to the 
place where the man lay^ 
he put some oil on \n» 
cuts and bruises and 
bound them up as well a& 
he could. Then he put 
tlie man on his own mule 
and walked beside him 
till they came to a house 
where they both could 
get shelter. He took 
care of liim that night, 
and in the morning, 
when he was obliged to 
go away, he ga^'e the 
man who kept the house 
some money, saying, 
^' Take care of him, and if you need to spend more money than 
this I will give you the rest the next time I come along." Then 
he went on I lis way. 

Jesus told this story, and then turned to the law^yer, saying, 
^^ Which now of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the 
man who fell among the robbers ? " The scribe answered, " He 
that took pity on him." Then Jesus said, " Go and do the same." 
If the lawyer had asked the question because he really wanted to 
know the answer, Jesus would have been glad to teach him. But 




The Good Samaritan 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 



131 



he knew what the man wanted, and that is why he told the story 
instead of answering him. 

Two or three miles outside of the city of Jerusalem was the 
village of Bethany, and here lived a family who loved Jesus, and 
of whom he was very fond. In the family were two sisters^ 
Mary and Martha, and their brother Lazarus, and they were very 
glad to have Jesus make his 
home with them whenever 
he could do so. 

Martha was the house- 
keeper, and because she 
wanted everything very nice 
when the Saviour was there, 
she kept about her work, 
and did not take much time 
to talk to him. But Mary 
was different ; she was so 
fond of hearing Jesus talk, 
that whenever he was in the 
house she dropped her work 
and sat at his feet that she 
might not lose a word of 
what he was saying. 

One day when Martha 
was tired and fretted be- 
cause Mary had not come 
to help her, she went into 
the room where her sister was sitting and said : ^' Lord, do you not 
care that my sister has left me to do the work alone ? Tell her 
to come and help me." 

Jesus did not send Mary away, but said to Martha : " Martha^, 
you take too much care and fret yourself about many things that 




Visit to Mary and Martha 



132 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

.are not important. There is only one thing that is really needful, 
and Mary has chosen that one thing that will never be taken 
away from her." The one thing was loving to be near the 
Christ, and to learn of him. 

As Jesus and the disciples were walking about Jerusalem one 
day they saw a man who had been blind ever since he was born. 
There are a great many blind people in those hot countries, more 
than in our cooler climate, for the heat and the brightness often 
bring on a disease of the eyes. There are no schools, or homes, 
where they can be taught to work so that they can earn their 
<own living. There are very many poor people there, too, many 
more than we have here, and most of them much poorer. And 
most of these very poor people, some of whom are sick, or lame, 
-or deformed, sit and beg for money by the sides of the roads. 
Very many of the blind people do this also, and this man was one 
of those who begged in Jerusalem. He had begged for so many 
years that every one in the city seemed to know him, and to look 
for him in his usual place. 

As they passed by him the disciples asked, '' Master, wdio 
sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind ?" They 
asked this question because many people thought that blindness, 
or any sickness, or trouble of any kind, was a punishment from 
God for somebody's sin, and the disciples wanted to know if this 
belief was true. 

Jesus answered : " It was neither his sin, nor his parents' that 
made this man blind. His blindness was not a punishment from 
Ood, but the power and goodness of God shall now be shown by 
giving him sight. I must do the works of God while I can, for 
the night is coming when I cannot work. As long as I am in the 
world T am the light of the world." He knew that the Sanhedrin 
would not rest until they had killed him, and that is wdiat he 
meant bv '^ the nio;ht is comins: when I cannot work." 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 



138 



When he had finished these words he spat on the ground and 
made some clay ; then he spread the clay on the blind man's eyes, 
and said to him, 
'^ Go wash in the 
Pool of Siloam." 
The blind man 
did as he was 
told, and when 
he came back he 
could see as well 
as any one. 

When the 
neighbors of the 
man, and those 
who had always 
known him, saw 
him with his eyes 
no longer blind, 
they did not know whether it was he or some one else. One said 
to another, " Is not this the man who sat and begged? " Some 
answered, "Yes, it is he." Others said, "I do not know; it 
looks like him." The man himself said, " I am the very 
one." 

" Then how were your eyes made to see ? " they asked. Said 
he : " A man that is called Jesus made clay, put some on my eyes, 
and told me to go to the Pool of Siloam and wash. I went and 
washed, and came back seeing." "Where is he now?" they 
asked. But this the man could not tell them; he was blind when 
Jesus spoke to him, and he had never seen the Saviour. 

All this happened on the Sabbath day, and the man who had 
been blind was taken to the Sanhedrin to see what they would 
say about it. Again he told with joy the story of how he had 




The Curing of the Man born Blind 



134 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

received his sight. The Jews were very much troubled. It was 
a wonderful cure. No one had ever heard of such a thing as giv- 
ing sight to a man who had been born blind. Some of them even 
began to wonder if they had made a mistake, and he really wa& 
the Christ. '' But," said some of them, '' he is not a good man ; if 
he were the Christ he would keep the Sabbath." Others said^ 
''But how could a bad man do such a wonderful deed?" and 
some were almost ready to believe in him. 

Turning again to the man who stood before them, they asked : 
'' What have you to say of this man who opened your eyes ? '' 
" I say that he is a prophet," he answered. 

There were a good many of the rulers who would not allow 
themselves to think that Jesus was the Christ, and as an excuse 
these began to say that the man had never been really blind. 
They called in his parents and asked them if he was really their 
son who had been born blind, and if so, liow it was that he could 
see now. 

They answered that they knew that he was their son, and 
that he had been born blind, but hoAv it was that he could see 
now they did not know. "He is old enough to tell himself, ask 
him," they said. 

These people had a good reason for not wanting to tell all 
they knew about it. Like all good Jews they loved to go to the 
synagogue service. The Pharisees had sent out a notice that 
any one who believed on Jesus, and said that he was the Christy 
should be put out of the synagogue, and should not be allowed ta 
worship there any more. And so the parents, afraid that they 
might say too much, told the rulers to ask the young man himself, 
if they wanted to know what had been done. 

The Jews knew what the young man would say, but they 
called him to them again, and tried to make him think it was. 
not, Jesus who had given him sight. " God gave you your sight^ 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 



135 



\k 



'/# 



praise him for it," they said. " It could not have been Jesus, for 
we know that he is a bad man." 

'' Whether he is a bad man or not," said the man, " I do not 
know. This one thing I do know, that once I was blind, and now 
I can see." They then asked again, " What did he do to you ? " 

Pleased as the man had ^ _ , 

been to answer this 
question the first time 
it was asked, he would 
not answer it now. " I 
have told you already 
what he did, and you 
would not hear ; why 
do you want to hear it 
again ? Will you also 
be his disciples ?" 

The Pharisees did 
not like this answer. 
They, the great San- 
hedrin, who had studied 
all their lives, who were 
themselves the teachers 
of the people, were 
they asked to learn of 
this teacher whom they 
so hated ? They began to talk angrily, saying : " You are one of 
the kind to be his disciples. We are the disciples of Moses. 
We know that God spoke to Moses, but we do not know where 
lie came from." 

" It is a strange thing that you do not know where he came 
from," answered the man, '- when he can do such a wonderful 
thing as open my eyes. We know that God does not bear sin- 



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Once I was blind, but now I can see' 



136 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

ners, but if any man worships him and obeys him, God will hear 
him. Since the world began no one ever heard of a man who 
could open the eyes of one who had been born blind ; and if this 
man were not from God he could not do it." 

How^ angry the Pharisees were at this answer ! What did the 
man mean by talking to them in this way ? Raising their voices 
they called out, " Does a man like you, a sinner, try to teach 
us?" They then sent him aw^ay with the punishment which his 
parents so feared ; lie would not 1j>e allowed to go again to wor- 
ship in the synagogue. 

AYhen Jesus heard what they had done he found the man 
whom he had cured, and said, " Do you believe on the Son of 
God ? " Said the man, '' Who is he. Lord, that I may believe ? " 
And then Jesus told him tliat he had already seen him, and was 
even then talking with him. As the man looked at him lie knew 
that he was talking with his Saviour, and that his Saviour was 
the Son of God. Saying, '' Lord, I do believe," he fell down and 
worshipped him. 

As they talked together Jesus said, " My coming into the 
world has done two things ; it has made those who Avere Ijlind 
see, and it has made those who think they can see, blind." 
There were some Pharisees standing near to hear all that was 
said, and one of them asked, " Do you mean to say that we are 
blmd?" 

Jesus answered them : " If your eyes were blind and you could 
not see, it would be no fault of yours ; but it is a sin when your 
minds and hearts are so blind that you will not let yourselves 
believe me. If I had not come to teach you how to live better 
lives, you would have had some excuse for your sins. But since 
you have heard my w^ords and have seen me do things that no 
other man can do, and yet will not believe me, there is no excuse 
for you. 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 



isr 



" The kingdom of heaven is like a sheepfold (a place where sheep 
are gathered together at night). He that does not go through the 
door into the sheepfold, but climbs in some other way is a thief 
and a robber. He that goes in by the door is the shepherd of 
the sheep. I am the 
door. If any man 
goes into the sheepfold 
through me he is safe, 
as the sheep are safe 
in the fold." 

They did not seem 
to understand what he 
meant, and so he ex- 
plained it to them. 
Heaven is the sheep- 
fold ; the people are 
the sheep. The Christ 
is the door, and all who 
want to go to heaven 
must go through the 
door. This they can do 
by believing the Christ 
and obeying him. 

Those who teach 
any other way of going into heaven are thieves and robbers, be-^ 
cause they are taking from the people the best things of life. 

He told them another parable to show them that his greatest 
wish was to do them good. In this parable he called himself 
the shepherd of the sheep, and other teachers hired men, who do 
not care for the sheep because they do not own them. 

He said : " I am the Good Shepherd, and the good shepherd is 
willing to give his life for the sheep. But the one who is hired 




The Sheepfold 



138 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CPIRIST 



to take care of the sheep, who does not own them, cares nothing 
for them. If he sees a wolf commg, he leaves the sheep and 
runs to look out for hmiself. Then the wolf catches the sheep 
£ind scatters them. I am the Good Shepherd, and will give my 
life for the sheep." 

How sweet and loving his voice was ! Many of the people 

^ ^yI^o heard him talk 

believed that he was 
telling the truth. They 
thought they would 
like to belong to this 
good shepherd, and 
that they would like 
to go to heaven by 
this door. But some 
said, '^ He is insane ; 
why do you listen to 
him?" ^^But," said 
those who were ready 
to believe him, '^ what 
he says does not sound 
like the talk of an in- 
sane man. Can one 
who is insane give sight 
to a man tliat has 
always been Ijlind ? " 
And they almost began to quarrel among themselves. 

Very soon after Jesus had spoken these words, it was time 
for another of the Jewish feasts. This was the Feast of the 
Dedication, which, like the other feasts we have studied about, 
lasted one week. This feast was held in the winter time. As 
he walked in the temple one day, some of the Jews came around 




The Good Shepherd 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 139 

him and asked : " How long shall we have to wait without know- 
ing whether you are the Christ or not ? If you are the Christ, 
tell us so plainly." 

Jesus answered : " I have told you so many times, but you 
would not believe me. The miracles that I do ought to answer 
your question, but you will not believe me because you are not 
my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them and they 
follow me, and I give them the life that will last forever. My 
Father, who gave them to me, is greater than all else, and no one 
shall be able to take them away from my Father or me, for I 
and my Farther are one." 

The Jews then took up stones to throw at hhn. What did 
the Saviour do ? Did he speak to them in anger ? No, he gently 
said, " Many good deeds have I done for you, through my Father; 
for which of these are you stoning me?" It would seem as if 
those words would have made them drop their stones in shame 
and ask him to forgive them, but it did not. 

They answered, " It is not for good works that we stone you, 
^Lit because you, a man, call yourself God." Jesus said : ^' If I 
do not do the works of God, then do not believe me. But if I 
do, then believe the works that you see, even if you cannot believe 
me. Then you will know and believe that the Father is in me, 
and I in him." 

Again the Sanhedrin tried to arrest the man who called him- 
self the Son of God, but they could not do it. Jesus left the 
temple and crossed the Jordan into the country where John the 
Baptist used to preach. Many of the people followed him even 
there, saying, " He is greater than John, for John did no miracle. 
Everything that John said about this man is true." And many 
believed on him there. 

These new friends asked him to teach them a prayer, as John 
had taught his disciples. Jesus then taught them the same 



140 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

prayer that he had taught the disciples in Galilee, the Lord's 
Prayer. He told them not to give up praying because God did 
not seem to answer them at once ; for the Father loved to have 
them keep asking, and would give them what was best for tliem^ 
just as they were willing to give good things to their children. 

The people of this part of the country crowded around him 
just as the people of Galilee had the year before ; for no one 
could hear him talk once without wanting to hear him again. 
Some probably believed that he w^as the Son of God, but no doubt 
others heard him talk, and then forgot him. 

As he was teaching the people one day, a Pharisee asked him 
to dinner. Why he invited him we do not know. Perhaps he 
liked to hear him, and wanted to know him better ; but probably 
he wanted to draw him away from the people and get him to 
say something of which he could complain to the rulers. 

Whatever his reason Jesus went with him, sat down to the 
table, and began to eat. You remember the custom the Phari- 
sees had of washing their hands before they ate, and why they 
did it ? Jesus did not wash his hands as he sat down to this 
dinner, and the Pharisee found fault with him. But Jesus wanted 
to teach the people that these customs were not of much impor- 
tance, if only the real commands of God w^ere olDeyed. It was 
much more necessary to be honest and kind and loving, than to 
wash one's hands just because it was a custom. 

So when the Pharisee found fault with him he told him and 
the others who were with him at the table what he thought 
about these things. They did not like this, and tried to say 
things that would make him angry, so that he would say more 
than he meant to say. But they did not succeed ; he went away 
from them and told his friends not to trust the Pharisees, for 
they were hypocrites, who said one thing when they meant 
another. 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 



141 



But he said : '' Do not be afraid of them, even if they arrest 
you and try to kill you. God, who takes care of even the spar- 
rows which are worth so little will surely take care of you. Yet 
even though they should kill you, it is only your body that they 




Jesus Preaching 

hurt, for they cannot touch your soul, that part of you which is 
to live forever." 

Two brothers who lived in that part of the country had quar- 
relled about some money that had been left to them ; one of them 
took more than the other thought was right. One day, while 
Jesus was talking to a very large crowd of people, the brother 
who did not think he had his share of the money said to him, 
" Master, speak to my brother, and tell him to divide the money 
with me." 

Jesus answered him, " Who made me your judge, or gave 
me the right to divide your property for you ? " That was not 
what he had come to earth to do. But he had come to teach^ 



142 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 



and while the people were thinkmg about property, for they had 
all heard the question, he taught them a lesson. '' Do not long 
to own what you see other people have," he said, ''for a man's 
happiness does not depend upon the number of things he owns." 
There was once a rich man who owned a great piece of land 

and planted it. Every- 
thing grew well one year, 
and at harvest time there 
was so nuich to gather 
that the man did not 
have room enough to 
put it all. He thought 
to himself : "|what 
m^' '''^-^y ^:V;^^7WjUjk^^af^ shallldo? My, bams 
^^B MiiS- ' ^^^^ BBN '^^'^ ^^^ small. \V here 

iH^ flifc^ -ii-jf'^ ^T mm ►'^hall I put all that has 

grown this year ? " 

He might ha\ 
some away, 
not ? But he did not 
want to do that, he 
wanted to keep it all 
himself. So he said : 
'' I will pull down my 
barns and build others 
which will be laro^e 
enough to hold all that I have gathered. Then I will say to 
my soul, ' Soul, you have enough for many years ; take your 
comfort now ; eat, drink, and be merry.' " But God said to him : 
'^ You foolish man, you will die this very night ; then who will 
have those things that you have stored away?" 

Jesus waited a mintite, and then said, " So is every one who 




miu^ht he 



The Rich and Foolish Man 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 143 

is rich in money and other treasures, but is not rich in God's 
love." 

After finishing this story Jesus taught his disciples many 
things that he had taught the people of G-alilee in the Sermon 
on the Mount. He told them not to be too anxious about their 
food and clothing, for God, who cared for such tiny things as 
birds and flowers, would surely care for them. '•' Let your 
greatest wish be to live as one of God's children ought, and 
all these things will be given to you. Do your best every day, 
and then, whenever God calls you to live with him, you will be 
ready to go." 

He was teaching in the synagogue one Sabbath day, and with 
the worshippers was a woman who was very much deformed. 
For eighteen years her back had been bent like a bow, and 
nothing on earth could make it straight. The loving heart of the 
Saviour felt pity for the poor woman. He called her to him, and, 
laying his hands on her, said, " You are free from this trouble." 

No sooner had he said this than the woman felt a difference 
in her back and found that she could stand straight again ; that 
she was no longer deformed. It made her very ha23py, and she 
thanked God for what had been done. 

But the ruler of the synagogue was very angry that this had 
been done on the Sabbath. So he said to the people : " There 
are six days in the week in which men ought to work. Come on 
one of those if you wish to be cured ! " 

Jesus turned to this man and said : " You hypocrite, does not 
each one on the Sabbath untie his ox and lead him away to water ? 
If there is such need of doing this that it is not wrong to do it on 
the Sabbath, should not this woman be freed from the trouble 
she has borne eighteen years, even on the Sabbath day?" These 
words made the Pharisees ashamed of themselves, and the people 
shouted for joy because of the glorious things that were being done. 



144 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

WONDERFUL TEACHINGS 

Jesus went through the cities and villages teaching men and 
women how to enter the kingdom of God. Every day he was 
drawing nearer to Jerusalem, for it was almost time for another 
Jewish feast. A party of Pharisees met him when he was not 
far from the city, and said to him : '' Go away from here. You 
are not safe, for Herod is looking for you, and if he finds you he 
will kill you." Jesus answered : "• You may go back to Herod 
and tell liiui that I will work cures as long as I live ; but before 
long my work will be done. I must go to Jerusalem, for that is 
the place where a prophet ought to die." 

Then, as he thought of the city which he so loved, and wanted 
so much to help ; as he thought of the unkind way in which he 
had already been treated, and of tlie cruel punishment which 
would come to him there, he cried : ^- Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 
who kills the prophets, and stones those who are sent to you ; how 
often I would have gathered your children together as a hen 
gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not let me ! 
And now it is too late ! " 

Jesus was invited to the house of one of the chief Pharisees, 
one Sabbath day, to eat bread, and here he was watched every 
moment. It was a very common custom in that country, as we 
have seen, for people who are passing a house to walk in at the 
open door. While they were at the table this Sabbath day, a 
man who was ill came into the Pharisee's house. Jesus looked 
at the man and said to the scribes and Pharisees, '' Is it right to 
heal on the Sabbath ? " There was no answer. 

He took the man, healed him, and let him go. Then he 
again spoke to those about the table, asking, " Wliich one of 
you, if one of your animals should fall into a deep hole, would 
not pull him out on the Sabbath?" They would not answer 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 



145 



this question, either, for they knew that they would all do that. 
And, if they would do so nmch for a suffering animal, how could 
they blame him for saving a suffering man ? So they said nothings 
and Jesus began to talk to them in parables. 

There were certain 
places at the table which 
were given to the guests 
who were the most 
worthy of respect. Jesus 
noticed that at this 
feast the guests chose 
these places for them- 
selves. No seat of 
honor was left for him, 
the chief guest. And 
so he spoke this parable. 

" When you are in- 
vited by any man to a 
wedding, do not sit 
down in the highest 
place, for perhaps a 
more honored o^uest 
than you has been in- 
vited. Then he who 
invited you both will 

say to you, ^ Give your place to this man,' and with shame you 
will have to take the lowest place. 

'• But when you are invited go and sit down in the lowest 
place. Then when he who asked you to come says, '• Friend, go 
up higher,' you can take another place, and be respected by all 
who are at the feast." It is better to begin at the bottom and 
go up than to begin at the top and go down. . 




The Lesson in Humility 



146 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

That was the first lesson that he taught. The second shows 
who ought to be invited to share our good times. Jesus said : 
" When you make a dinner or a supper do not invite your friends 
or relatives or rich neighbors, who will later make a feast and 
invite you back again. But call in the poor, the deformed, the 
lame, and the blind, who do not have many good times. They 
cannot pay you back, but the Lord will reward you." A great 
many people have learned this lesson now, but very few knew it 
then. Just think how many kind things are done for the poor 
people among us to-day ! There are a good many Thanksgiving 
dinners given to the newsboys, the sailors, the children in the 
homes for orphans and in the hospitals. The poor children in 
many cities are given days or weeks in the country and hx the 
sea. All these things, and many more, because Jesus taught this 
lesson of love. 

The next lesson was given in this parable. A certain man 
made a great supper, and invited many guests. When the supper 
was ready he sent his servant to say to those wlio had been in- 
vited, "Come, for all things are ready." 

That Avas another of the customs in those days. People were 
invited some time beforehand, and then when everything was 
prepared the servant went around again to tell those who had 
accepted the invitation to come. They had no clocks and watches^ 
and perhaps that was one reason why they did so. 

These guests had said that they would accept the invitation^ 
but when the servant went to them the second time they began 
to make excuses. The first said he had bought a piece of ground 
that he wanted to go and see, and must be excused. Another 
said, " I have just bought five yol^e of oxen, and I must try them 
to see if they are as good as they ought to be ; I shall have to be 
excused." Still another said, " I have just been married, so I 
cannot come." 



THE MmiSTRY OF THE CHRIST 



147 



All the guests had some kind of an excuse, and when the ser- 
vant went back to his master and told him of these things he was 
very angry, for he had prepared good things for the feast. He 
said to the servant, " Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of 
the city, and bring in 
the poor, the deformed, j 
and the lame, and the 
blind." , 

The servant did 
this, and then said to 
his master, " Lord, I 
have done as you com- 
manded, and yet there 
is room." The master 
said : '^ Go out again 
and bring in more 
people till the house is 
filled, for none of those 
who were invited shall 
taste of my supper." 

This is the story of 
what had happened in 
the Saviour's own life. 
The gospel he had 
come to teach was the 

feast of good things which had been made ready, and the Jews 
were the invited guests who had found every kind of excuse for 
not coming to it. The publicans and the common people wei^e 
the lame and the blind who had been willing to come to Jesus, 
and they had received the blessings which the Pharisees would 
not take. 

Yet, though these Jewish rulers did not want to be friends 





The Great Supper 



148 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 



with the Saviour themselves, they found great fault with him, 
because he went so much among these publicans, even going to 
their homes and eating with them. At one time, when the scribes 
and Pharisees were complaining of the company Jesus kept, he 
told them three stories, to show why he did what they thought 
was so bad. 

He wanted to show them that God cared even for those who 

had been very wicked, if 
they only were sorry for 
their sin, and that he cared 
for them really more than 
for those who had never 
done anything that was 
very bad, but who thought 
they were very good, and 
were not sorry for the 
wrong things they did. 
These ^vere the stories. 

What man is there who 
has a hundred sheep who, 
if he should lose one of 
them, woidd not leave the 
ninety-nine wherever they 
were, even though it should be in the wilderness, and go after the 
one that is lost until he find.^ it ? He is willing to hunt through 
the woods and over the mountains, for he knows that it is weak 
and timid, and that it will be very much frightened, and may 
get hurt, out alone among the wild beasts. He is willing to take 
great trouble, if he can only find the sheep which has wandered 
away from the flock. And when he has found it he is very 
joyful, and lays it gently on his shoulder, and carries it home 
to the sheepfold. 




The Lost Sheep 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 



149 



And when he gets home he calls his friends and neighbors to- 
gether, saying to them, " Be glad with me, for I have found the 

sheep which I had lost." 

Jesus said that in the 
same way there is joy in 
heaven over one wicked 
person who truly repents, 
more than over ninety-nine 
persons who are not so 
very bad, and who think 
they need no repentance. 

Repentance, you re- 
member, is being so sorry 
for what we have done 
that we will try very, very 
hard not to do the wrong 
thing again. Do you re- 
member the story Jesus 
told the Pharisee, Simon, 
when the woman anointed 
his feet ? He said that 
the one who had done 
many wrong things, but 
who had repented and been 
forgiven, would love God 
better than one who had been a better man, but who was not 
sorry for what wrong things he had done. 

You know, the more we love any one the more willing we 
are to please him, even when it takes a good deal of time and 
trouble ; and if we truly love our heavenly Father, we shall want 
to be as sweet, loving, and obedient as possible, because we know 
it pleases Him. 




The Lost Sheep Found 



150 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 



This was the second of these three stories. What woman^ 
who has ten pieces of silver, if she should lose one piece, would 

not light a lamp and 
sweep the house, and 
look carefully till she 
finds it ? And when 
slie has found it she 
calls her friends and 
neighbors together, say- 
ing, " Be glad with me^ 
for I have found the 
piece of silver that was 
lost." 

So I say to you^ 
there is joy among the 
angels of God in heaven 
over one sinner that 
repents. 

The third story was 
one which has been 
loved by a great many 
people ever since Jesus 
told it to these Jews so long ago. It was the story of the prodi- 
gal son. 

A certain man had two sons, and the younger one said to his 
father, " Father, give me my share of your money and property, 
for I want to go away from here." The father did as the boy 
wished, and, not many days after, this younger son gathered 
together all that he had and took a journey into a far country. 

He fell into bad company there, and spent his money for 
wicked pleasure, and spent it very fast. The time came when he 
had not enough left to buy even the food he needed, and he went 




The Lost Piece of Silver 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 



151 



and worked for a man of that country, who sent hhn into his 
fields to take care of the pigs. There were many days when the 
young man was hungry enough to eat the food given to the pigs. 

One day, while at work, as he thought of his happy home, and 
how foolish he had been to leave it, he said to himself : " How 
many hired servants of my father have bread enough and to 
spare, while I am suffering here from hunger. I will leave this 
place and will go home to my father and will say : " Father, I 

have been wicked. I ^ . 

have broken God's laws, 

and have done many f 

thino-s that I am 

ashamed to have you 

know. Let me be one 

of your hired servants." 

The more he 
thought about it the 
more decided he be- 
came, until at last he 
left his work and started 
home. 

Now when he was 
still a long way off, the 
father, who dearly loved 
his boy, saw him coming 
and ran to meet him. 
He put his arms around 
his son's neck and 
kissed him. The young man, who was ashamed of the life he 
had led, said: ^^ Father, I have been wicked. I have broken 
God's laws, and done wrong to you. I am not worthy to be 
called your son." 




The Prodigal Son 



152 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

But the father said to his servants : " Bring here the best robe 
and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his 
feet. Kill the fatted calf, and let us be merry ; for this my son 
was lost and is found." 

His orders were carried out, and the household began to cele- 
brate the coming home of the younger son. 

Now the older son was in the field, and as he came toward the 
house he heard the music and dancing. He called one of the ser- 
vants and asked what these things meant. The servant said, 
" Your brother has come home, and your father has killed the 
fatted calf l)ecause he is so glad to have him back safe and well." 

The older son was angry and would not go in. His father 
came out and urged him to come in and be glad with them that 
his brother had come back. But he would not go. He said : " I 
have stayed here all the time, doing as well as I could for you, 
and you never made a party for me ; you have not killed as much 
as a kid for me, that I might be merry with my friends. But as 
soon as my brother, who has been away wasting your money, has 
come back, you have killed for him the fatted calf." 

The father answered : " Son, you are always with me, and all 
that I have is yours. Still it is right we should be merry now, 
and very happy ; for your brother was lost, and is found." 

Jesus spoke these three parables to show the Jews why he 
worked among the publicans and wicked people. They were the 
sheep that had strayed away, and the treasure that had been lost. 
They were the younger son, and had indeed been more wicked 
than their brotliers, the scribes and Pharisees. They had not 
wanted to obey the law of God, their Father, and to serve him, 
but had wandered away and wasted their lives in doing just what 
they liked. 

But now they were learning how foolish they had been, and 
were coming back to their Father, asking him to forgive them? 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 



ld?j 



and take them to be his workers. And the Son of God was 
teaching them to do his Father's work. 

Soon after this he told two other stories, quite different from 
these. In the first one he showed how the people who care for 
money, and what it will 
buy in this world, plan 
carefully for the time 
that is coming. The 
man of whom the story 
is told was not honest 
in his planning, and the 
Saviour did not praise 
him for that. But he 
did say that those who 
serve God should try 
to plan for the future, 
as well as others ; and 
should try to make 
themselves liked by 
their companions. 

The other story was 
about two men. One 
was very rich and had 
everything he wanted ; 
the other was a beggar 

who, poor and sick, sat on the steps of the rich man's house, and 
begged for the scraps of food that they were going to throw 
away. 

But there is another side to the story. After telling about 
the two men while they were living on this earth, he told them 
that in the other world the poor beggar was to have the highest 
place, for he had served God in his poverty better than the rich 




The Rich Man and Lazarus 



154 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

man, with all his money. He showed the people that having 
good things in this life does not mean that good things will come 
to lis in the other life, unless we are good, and Jove and serve 
God. 

A messenger came hurriedly to Perea, one day, to find the 
Saviour, saying, ''Lord, your friend Lazarus, whom you love so 
dearly, is very sick, and his sisters, Mary and Martha, have sent 
for you." Now", although Jesus was so fond of this family, he 
did not go at once to Bethany to help them, but stayed two or 
three days longer wdiere he was, in Perea. 

For two days he said nothing about going away, but, at the 
end of that time he said to his disciples, " Let us go into Judea 
again." They answered: '^Master, do you not remember that 
the Jews almost stoned you the last time you were there ? Are 
you going to risk it again ? " 

Jesus told them that he was, for his work in Judea was not 
yet done, and then said, " Our friend Lazarus is sleeping ; I must 
go and wake him out of his sleep." The disciples thought that 
Lazarus must be better if he could sleep, and answ^ered, " Lord, 
if he is sleeping he is better." 

Jesus said : " He is not sleeping in the w^ay you mean ; Laza- 
rus is dead. I am glad, for your sakes, that I was not there 
when he died ; you will have greater reason than ever for 
believing in me. Come, let us go to him." 

The disciples were almost afraid to have their Master go back 
into Judea, and Thomas said to the others, " We will all go and 
die with him." 

When they reached Bethany they found that Lazarus was 
dead, as the Master had said, and had been in the grave for four 
days. You remember that Bethany was only a few miles from 
Jerusalem, and many Jews had come from that city to comfort 
Mary and Martha. They were a sad and lonely family now, for 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 



155 



10 had been taken from them, and they 



Jesus was 
sat still in 



on the way, and went out to 
the house. When Martha 



they loved the brother vj 
missed him very much. 

Martha heard that 
meet him ; but Mary 
■came to the Saviour, 
she said : " Lord, if 
you had been here my 
brother would not have 
died. But I know that 
Ood will give you 
whatever vou ask of 
him." 

Jesus said to her, 
^' Your brother shall 
rise again." Then he 
.spoke to her words 
which have, ever since 
that time, cheered peo- 
ple when their friends 
have been taken away 
from them ; for he told 
her that one who be- 
lieves in him shall 
never die ; for though 
he dies on earth, he 
forever. 

These words were a comfort to Martha, for she believed them, 
and she went back to the house to tell Mary about it. She called 
so softly that no one else could hear what she said, '^ Mary, the 
Master is come, and is calling for you." 

As soon as Mary heard this glad news she rose quickly and 
went to see Jesus, who had not come into the town, but was wait- 




is 



living 



Martha and Jesus 

somewhere else, and will live 



156 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

ing in the place where Martha had left hmi. Now when the 
Jews who had come to this home to comfort the sisters saw Mary 
rise in such haste and go away from the house, they followed her, 
saying, '' She is going to the grave to weep there." 

Mary went away, and when she got to the place where Jesus 
was waiting she bowed down at his feet. She was crying so hard 
that she could scarcely talk, but she said, '^ Lord, if you had 
only been here my brother would not have died." And when the 
loving Saviour saw her crying, and the Jews who had followed 
her crying too, he could not keep back the tears from his own 
eyes. Jesus, wept, for he, too, had lost a friend whom he dearly 
loved. 

The Jews noticed this, and some of them said, '' See how he 
loved him." From others came the question, '' Could not this 
man who opened the eyes of the blind have kept his friend from 
dying?" 

The Saviour asked, "Where have you laid Lazarus?" And 
they replied, '' Come and see." Still weeping, Jesus w^ent to the 
grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. The Master said, 
" Take away the stone," and some one took it away. 

Then, raising his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed in these words, 
" Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew 
that thou hearest me always, but because of the people who stand 
by, I said it ; that they may know that thou hast sent me into 
the world." 

When he had finished this prayer he called in a loud voice, 
'^ Lazarus, come forth." The people looked on in wonder. Could 
it be possible that Lazarus would hear that voice, and obey ? 
But no, it could not be, for he had been dead and buried for 
several days. While they were still talking in this way Lazarus 
Avalked out of the grave, a living man. 

Many of the Jews wdio had never before believed in Jesus- 



THE MINISTRY OF THP: CHRIST 



157 



changed their mmds when they saw what he had done for 
Lazarus. But some of those who saw it w^ent to the Pharisees 
and told them about it. 

At once a meeting of the great council, the Sanhedrin, was 
called, and the question 
was put : " What shall 
we do ? for this man 
surely works many mir- 
acles. If we let him 
alone all the people will 
soon believe on him. 
Then the Romans, fear- 
ing that we will try to 
make him king, will 
take away even the free- 
dom that we now have." 

The High Priest then 
rose and said : '' You are 
not very w^ise about this 
thing. Is it not better 
that one man should 
die than for the whole 
nation to be punished ? " 
Before the meeting w^as 
over it w^as voted that 

Jesus should die, and the command was sent out that any man 
wdio knew where this teacher was must tell of it, that he might 
be arrested. 

The council even planned to kill Lazarus, too. '^ For," they 
said, " every one who sees him will know that he was raised from 
the dead, and will believe that Jesus, who raised him, is the 
Christ." 




The Raising of Lazarus 



158 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 



THE LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM 

Jesus did not stay any longer in the cities, but went with his 
disciples into Ephraim, which is near the wilderness. Here he 
stayed until it was time for the Passover feast. Then he and his 
disciples started again for Jerusalem. 

As they passed thiough a certain village of Samaria, they saw 

a company of ten men ; 
nine Jews and one 
Samaritan. The men 
did not come ver}^ near 
the travellers, for they 
w^ere lepers, and did 
not dare to disobey the 
law of the country. 
No one could help feel- 
ing pity for the lepers, 
they were so lonely. 
Driven from their 
homes, with no hope 
of ever being allow^ed 
to go back to their 
friends ; suffering with 
this dreadful disease, 
which no doctor on 
earth knew how to cure, 
they wandered about. 
But however much people pitied them there was only one who 
was able to help them. Perhaps these lepers had heard that 
Jesus of Nazareth could heal any troul)le, even their dreadful 
disease ; perhaps they had heard that he w^ould pass that way, 
and were looking for him. Now, when they saw him coming, 




Healing of the Ten Lepers 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 159 

even while he was far away, they began to cry, " Jesus, Master, 
have pity on us." 

The Saviour, hearing their cry, said : " Go, show yourselves 
to the priest." They turned about to obey him, and as they 
walked along looked at one another, and then at their own flesh. 
AYliat joy ! Their skin was no longer dry and white, and full of 
sores; it looked as it had when they were well. Could it be true 
that they were lepers no longer? Yes, it w^as really true ; Jesus 
had made them well. 

Novf the Samaritan, when he saw that he was well, w^ent 
back to the Master, and, falling down at his feet, thanked him 
again and again for making him well. Seeing only this one man. 
Jesus asked : '^ Were there not ten who were cured ? Yet none 
of them have come back to thank God except this stranger. 
Where are the nine?" 

And where were they, the Jews who had been made well ? 
Hurrying as fast as they could to show themselves to the priests. 
They. longed to hear them say that they were well; they longed 
to live like other people again. They longed so much to be at 
home with their friends that in their hurry they forgot to thank 
the One who had made them well. How different their lives 
would have been if the Saviour had not been so kind to them I 
And yet they did not say a word of thanks to the One who had 
made this dilference ! Do we ever forget to thank God for what 
he does for us ? 

As Jesus and the twelve travelled toward Jerusalem they 
were joined by other groups of people who were on their way to 
the feast ; and as they walked together Jesus taught one lesson 
after another and answered the questions that were asked him. 
The Pharisees asked when the kingdom of heaven should come, 
and he told them that this was a kino^dom which would never be 
seen, for it was in the hearts of those who belonged to it. 



KiO 



A CHILD'S srOTtV OV illE LIFE OV CHRIST 



Here is one of the parables he told on that journey. Two 
men went into the temple to pray ; one was a Pharisee, and the 

other a publiean. The 
Pharisee stood with his 
head up and proudly said: 
^'God, I thaidv thee that I 
am not as wieked as other 
men are, or even like this 
])Oor j)uhlican. I go with- 
out food twice every week, 
and I give away a tenth of 
all that I (nvn." 

But the publican, stand- 
ing away from the others 
in the temple, did not even 
lift up Ills eyes toward 
heavcni. 1I(! put his hands 
on his breast and said, 
" God be merciful to me, a 




The Pharisee and the Publican 



id Je- 



smner. 

" I tell you," sa 

sus, ^'that God was better 
pleased with this man than he was with the other who boasted of 
his good works." Those who are the greatest in their own eyes 
are often the least in God's sight. If we are kind and generous 
to others because we love them we will not always Ijc thinking 
how good we are to them. 

As the company passed along tlie road little children were 
brought to the Christ, that he might put his hands on them and 
bless them. The disciples wanted to send them away, for they 
thought their Master was too busy to l)e trouljled with children, 
but Jesus would not allow this to be done. 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 



161 



He called the little ones to him, and laying his hands on their 
heads in blessing, he said those words that so many children have 
learned since then, and that every child loves if he has ever heard 
them. 

^^ Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid 
them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven." 

Jesus always loved the 
children. Do you remem- 
ber that time, after his 
disciples had been quarrel- 
ing about who was to be 
the greatest man in the 
new kingdom that they 
thought Jesus was going 
to have in their countrj^ ? 
Then Jesus took a child 
in liis arms and said that 
it was only those who 
were loving and obedient 
like a child ; those who 
knew they did not know 
much, and were willing to 
learn, that would be mem- 
bers of the kingdom, and 
that wanting to be great 
was sure to make them 
the lowest. 

When they had gone 
a little farther on, a rich young man came up to the Saviour 
and kneeled at his feet, saying, "Good Master, what shall I do 
that I may have the life that goes on forever ? " Jesus said to 
him : " Why do you call me good ? There is none good but one, 




Christ blessing Little Children 



162 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 



that is God. But if you want to live forever, keep the command- 
ments. You know them. Do not kiU. Do not steal. Do not 
tell things that are not true. Honor your father and mother. 
Love your neighbor as yourself." 

The young man answered and said to him : ^' Master, I have 

kept all these com- 
mandments ever since 
I was a little boy, 
AYhat more must I 
do ? " Jesus knew that 
this was so, and 




to the 



af 



you want to he perfect^ 
go and sell all that 
you have and give it to 
the poor, and you shall 
have treasure in heaven. 
Then come and follow 
me. 

Now tliisyoung man 
was ver}' rich, and prob- 
ably cared more for his 
money th^n for any- 
l • thing else in the wide 

The Rich Young Man WOrld. JcSUS kuCW 

this, and knew that 
until he was willing to give up everything that was dearer ta 
him than love for God, he could not be a true disciple of his. 
And so, though he loved the young man, he asked him to do 
this thing which was so hard for hiui to do. The young man 
said no more, but went away very sad. He felt that he could 
not do what the Master had asked of him. 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 163^ 

Turning to the other travellers Jesus said, ^^ How hard it is 
for people to give up their riches and the things that are dear 
to them, to follow me ! " And he showed them that it was 
only when God gave them new hearts that such a thing was 
possible. 

Peter then spoke for himself and the other disciples, and said, 
^' Lord, we have left all to follow you ; what shall we gain by 
doing it ? " Jesus answered : '^ There is no man who has left 
home or parents or friends or wife or children, for my sake, who 
sliall not receive in this world many times as much as he has 
lost. And in the world to come he will have the life that never 
ends." Then he told them another story. 

The kino^dom of heaven is like a man who owned a larg^e- 
vineyard ; that is, a place where grapes are grown. When he 
went out very early one morning to find men who would work 
for him in this vineyard, he found some who agreed to work all 
day for a Roman penny. This was worth about sixteen cents 
of our money, and was what such laborers usually received for a 
day's work. 

About nine o'clock in the morning he went out again, and 
seeing others standing in the market-place doing nothing, he said,. 
'' You can go into my vineyard, and whatever is right I will give 
you." At twelve o'clock and at three o'clock he did the same 
thing. 

Even as late as five o'clock in the afternoon he found men 
in the market-place who were doing nothing. He asked them,. 
" Why do you stand here all the day idle ? " and they answered^ 
"Because no man has hired us." He then told them, as he had 
the others, that they might work in his vineyard, and that he 
would pay them what was right. 

In that country they called the day over at sunset, and a& 
that was usually six o'clock, they stopped their work then. So 



164 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

when it was time to stop work that evening, the master said to 
one of his head workers, '' Call the men in and pay them for 
what they have done, beginning with those who came last." 

The men who had workecl but one hom^ came in, and each 
of them received a penny. Those who came to work at three 
o'clock were called next, and they also had a penny apiece ; and 
so did every man who had been at work in the vineyard that 
day. 

Now, when those who had been at work since early morning 
heard that every one had been given the same money, they were 
angry. They thought they should be paid more than those who 
had only worked a part of the day, and they found fault with 
the man who hired them. 

'' Friends," said he, ''have I not given you all that I prom- 
ised you ? I have not wronged you, for you agreed to work for 
a penny a day. Take what belongs to you, and go home. Is 
it not right for me to do as I wish with my own money ? Are 
you angry because I want to be kind to these other men ? " 

In this parable Jesus taught that the Father will always 
reward good, honest work; not always according to the amount 
we have done, but according to our willingness to help. Just as 
a mother thanks her little daughter for trying to help her, even 
though the little girl could not do much work, nor do it very well. 

Jesus now took his disciples apart from the others, and as 
they sat together, resting, he spoke to them once more of what 
was going to happen to him. " We are on the way to Jerusalem 
now," said he, '' and there I shall be given up to the chief priests 
,and scribes, who have said that I should be put to death at once. 
But on the third day I shall rise again." 

It is strange that the disciples could not understand what 
their Master meant, but they did not, and even now they were 
wondering who would have the highest places in the kingdom. 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 



165 



The mother oi two of thenij- James and John, came to him 
at this time, and asked that her two sons might have the highest 
places, those next to Jesus himself. 

The ten other disciples were very angry with these two, when 
they heard what they had asked ; for they all wanted the same 
thing, and they thought their Master would probably give these 




The Request for James and John 



places to those who had asked for them first. Very possibly they 
felt that they would be much more worthy of them than the two 
who had asked. At any rate they did not think James and John 
had any more right to them than they had. 

Again Jesus tried to teach them that the one who would be 
the greatest must be the least. He must be willing to forget 
himself, and think of others, even as the Christ, their Master, 
w^ho all his life worked for others instead of having others work 
for him. 



166 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 






? 




After a short rest Jesus and the twelve started again on their 
journey. As they came near to Jericho they saw two blind men 

sitting by the wayside, 
begging. Though these 
men could not see wdiat 
w^as g^oinu^ on, the v could 
tell by the sound that a 
great many people were 
passing. 

One of the tw^o, 
n a me d B a r t i m ob u s, 
asked wdiat it all meant, 
and they told him that 
Jesus of Nazareth w^as 
passing by. Bartinicisus- 
knew that name, and 
knew he had spoken tO' 
other l)lind men and 
given them sight. So' 
now^ he called out, ^' Je- 
sus, son of David, have 
pity on me." 

He called so loudly 
that people tried to quiet him ; but he w^ould not be quieted. 
Jesus stood still and commanded that the blind man should be 
brought to him. Willing people called to Bartimseus, " Be of 
good cheer ; rise, he is calliug you." 

Then they led both him and his friend to the Saviour, who 
said to them, ^^ What do yon want me to do for you?" They 
answered, " Lord, w^e w^ant our eyes opened." The Saviour 
touched their eyes and said, " Your belief in me has made you 
well." The bliud eyes could see now, and the two men follow^ed 




The Blind Man by the Wayside 



THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST 



167 



the Saviour, praising God for what had been done for them. 
And all the people, when they saw it, also praised God. 

The travellers, who were now a large company, arrived at 
Jericho. This w^as a busy city Avhere there was a great deal of 
buying and selling going on ; and as a certain share of the money 
taken in this way belonged to the Roman goverinnent, very many 
publicans lived in the city to collect this money. 

One of the most noted of these publicans was a man named 
Zaccheus. When he heard that Jesus w^as passing through the 
city he w^ an ted to see 



him. 
short 



He 



P 



was a very 
man, and could 
not see over the heads 
of people, but he was so 
very anxious to see this 
Eabbi, of whom every 
one was talking, that he 
ran ahead and climbed a 
tree on the road along 
wdiich he knew Jesus 
must pass. 

As the Saviour drew 
near, he looked up and 
saw the man in the tree. 
^^ Zaccheus," said be, 
" make haste and come 
■down, for I w^ant to stay 
at your house to-day." 
What an honor for Zac- 
€lieus ! He did not need 

to be called twice, but came down as quickly 
with joy welcomed the Saviour to his home. 




The Calling of Zaccheus 



as be could, and 



168 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

The people frowned, and muttered, '• He has gone to be the 
guest of a man who is a smner." Perhaps Zaccheus was a wicked 
man; perhaps he had not always been honest; but the loving 
spirit of his guest made him want to be good and honest, and 
to begin a different life right away. 

So he said, loud enough for all to hear him, "Lord, half of 
my goods I will give to tlie poor, and if I have taken anything 
from any man dishonestly, I will give him back four times as 
much as I have taken." 

Jesus said to him, '' This day is salvation come to this house. 
I came to earth on purpose to seek and to save that which was 
lost." The Saviour knew that a man who was willing to do as 
much as this to undo his wrong actions had started in the right 
dh^ection. He was saved, for he would be a better man forever 
after this. 

But even tliough he had done Zaccheus so much good, and had 
made an honest man of him, the people were displeased to think 
that Jesus should be friendly with a publican. Did he not claim 
to be their king? Was he not even now on the way to Jerusa- 
lem, where he would set up his throne ? That is what they 
thought and what they hoped. 

Knowing their thoughts, Jesus told them this parable. A cer- 
tain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a 
kingdom ; then, after he had l)een made king, he expected to 
return. Before he left home he called to him his ten servants 
and gave to each of them the same amount of money, sayings 
"Make the best use you can of it until I come back." 

Now his people did not like this nol^leman, and sent this mes- 
sage to the far country, " We will not have this man rule over 
us." No attention was paid to tlie message. The nobleman re- 
ceived his kingdom and returned. 

Again he called his servants, to whom he had given the money, 



THE MINISTRY OF THP] CHRIST 



169' 



that he might find out what each one had been doing. The first 
man came gladly, for he had done his best with the money that 
had been given him. He passed it to his master, saying, "Lord, 
here is your money, and ten times as much more as you gave 
me." To him the nobleman said : '' Well done, good and faithful 
servant. Because you have been faithful over a very little, you 
sha.ll now be ruler over ten cities." 

The second man, too, was glad to come, for he had done his 
best. He said, " Lord, 
here is five times as 
much as you gave me." 
The nobleman praised 
him also, and said, 
" Well done, you shall 
be ruler over five cities." 

The next man came 
unwillingly, for he had 
done nothing with his 
master's money. He 
hung his head in shame, 
as he said: "Lord, here 
is your money which I 
have kept laid av/ay in 
a napkin. I was afraid 
of you, for I know how 
strict you are, and how 
much you expect every 
one to do." 

" If you knew that 
I expected a great deal," said the nobleman, "why did you not 
try to make my money earn all it could, so that, when I came 
back, I could have received all that belonged to me ? " Then he 




The Parable of the Pounds 



170 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

;said to those that stood by, " Take all that the man has away 
from him, and give it to the one who has been the most faithful." 

In this parable the Christ himself is the nobleman, and heaven 
lis the far-away country. Those to whom lie was talking were the 
servants, and so are we, for the Christ has not yet come back 
from the far-away country. We must make the best nse of 
everything he has given us if we want to hear him say to us, 
^' Well done, good and faithful servant." 

After the rest at Jericho the travellers were ready to climb the 
Jong hill that lay between them and Jernsalem. It took five or 
six hours to do this, and they gave themselves time enough to 
finish their journey before sunset, for it was Friday, and at sunset 
the Jewish Sabbath began. 

Bethany was between Jericho and Jerusalem, and when they 
■came to this little village Jesus and his disciples, leaving the rest 
of the party, went to the liome where he was always Avelcome, 
the houie of Martha and Mary. There he quietly spent his 
Sabbath day, happy in knowing that he was among friends that 
loved him. 

The Passover did not begin until the next Thursday at sunset, 
but many Jews from the country had already arrived at Jerusalem, 
and were asking each other, "Do you think Jesus will come to 
the feast ? " They may have been answered by some of those 
who travelled part of the way with Jesus, who told them that he 
was even then at Bethany. 



TTHE LAST WEEK OF THE CHRIST'S 
EARTHLY LIFE 




SATURDAY 

On the evening of Saturday, for the Sabbath was over at sun- 
set, his friends at Bethany made a feast for him. As Martha 
was doing tlie work, and Mary and Lazarus were both there, we 
think it was probably 
in their home. 

A great many of the 
Jews had come to this 
feast for two reasons : 
They wanted to see 
Lazarus, who had been 
brouglit back to life ; 
and they wanted to see 
Jesus, who could do so 
great a miracle. 

As the guests sat at 
the table, a delicious 
perfume began to fill 
the air, and looking at 
Jesus they saw what 
had made it. Mary had 
taken a beautiful box 
which held a pound of 
very costly ointment, 
had broken this box and poured the ointment on the head and feet 
of Jesus, and was then wiping his feet with her long hair. 

Ever since the apostles had gone about with their Master they 
had lived like one family. All the money was kept in one bag^ 
and was used to pay the bills for any or all of them. Judas was 

171 




Anointing at Bethany 



172 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

the apostle who took care of the money bag, and he was now the 
one who spoke first. 

He felt angry, and said, '^ Why is this ointment being wasted? 
Why was it not sold and the money given to the poor ? " He 
said this, not because he cared for the poor, but because he was 
a thief, and if the money had gone into the ])ag, he could have 
had part of it for himself. 

Jesus said to Judas : '' Let her alone ; why do you trouble 
the woman ? You will have the poor with you always, l:)ut you 
will not always have me. She has done well. What she has 
done will be told in memory of her wherever people learn aljout 
me. 

SUNDAY 

Early on the morning of our Sunday a company of people 
took palm branches in their hands and went out of the city to 
meet Jesus. At Bethany, too, a crowd had gathered to see the 
one whose name was on every one's lips. For all those Jews who 
were at the grave of Lazarus when the Master brought him Ijack 
to life had often told the story of what they had seen. 

Jesus sent two of his disciples ahead to another village, say- 
ing : " When you get to a certain place you will find a colt tied 
by the door in a place where two roads meet ; a colt on which no 
man has ever sat. Untie him and bring him to me. If any man 
asks you why you are doing this, you must say, ^ The Lord needs 
him,' and then the man will let him go." 

The disciples went as he told them, found the colt tied by the 
door, and untied him. A man who stood by said, " Why are 
you letting the colt loose ? " The disciples answered, " The Lord 
needs him." The owner said no more, and the friends of Jesus 
took the colt to their Master. After they had thrown their coats 
on its back to make the softest saddle they could for him, Jesus 
sat on the colt and rode to Jerusalem. 



THE LAST WEEK OF THE CHRIST'S EARTHLY LIFE 



173 



He was followed by the people who had been waiting for 
him at Bethany and by the large company who had come from 
all the towns of Galilee and Judea to the Passover feast. It 
seemed as if his followers were enough to protect him from the 
wicked plan of the Jews. Once again there were thousands of 
people who were ready 
to own him as their king 
and to crown him. 

How proud these 
men were to be in his 
company ! One tried to 
do more than another to 
honor him ! Some threw 
down their clothing to 
make a soft carpet on 
which he might ride ; 
others cut down branches 
of palm trees and car- 
peted the . road with 
them . 

When the great com- 
pany came to the foot 
of the Mount of Olives 
both those that wxnt 
before and those who 
followed after waved their branches, and with a loud voice sang 
praise to God for all the mighty w^orks they had seen. And this 
was their song : " Hosanna to the Son of David ! Blessed is he 
that Cometh in the name of the Lord ! Hosanna in the highest ! " 

They soon reached the top of the mountain, and Jerusalem 
was in full sight. Every Jew loved Jerusalem, and Jesus loved 
it dearly, even though he had never been well treated there. 




The Triumphal Entry 



174 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 



Now, as be looked at the city, and thought what he could 
have done to save it, he felt so sad that he cried . '^ Jerusalem, 
if you had only known what was best for you ! But it is too late. 
The day is coining when you and your children shall be destroyed, 
and there will not be one stone left upon another." 

This really came true in less than fifty years after the death 
of the Christ. The Romans marched against the city, tore down 




Christ weeping over Jerusalem 



the walls, killed men, women, and children, and left nothing but 
ruins behind them. 

The procession moved on through the gates into the city. 
Though the people of Jerusalem expected to see a great many 
strangers there during Passover week, they wondered what it 
meant to have this great army march through the 'city, doing 
honor to a man who was poorly dressed, and sitting on a little 
untrained colt. 

The whole city was hiterested, and asked, '^ Who is this ? " 



THE LAST WEEK OF THE CHRIST'S EARTHLY LIFE 175 

The crowds with Jesus answered, " This is Jesus, the prophet 
of Nazareth in Gahlee." 

Now the rulers of the Jews Vvere troubled when they saw and 
heard all these things. They were afraid it would be impossible 
for them to carry out their plans, if so many people had become 
the friends of Jesus. Some of them called out, " Master, tell 
your disciples to stop their shouting." But he answered, " If 
these should keep quiet, the very stones of the city would cry 
out." 

When the crowd arrived at the temple they separated, for not 
all were clean and ready to go into the temple. Jesus went in, 
and stayed there until evening, when, with the twelve, he went 
back to Bethany to spend the night. 

MONDAY 

Monday morning, on the way to Jerusalem, Jesus saw, a little 
way from the roadside, a fig tree. It seemed to be a strong, 
healthy tree, and he hoped to find some fruit on it, for he was 
hungry. But when he came to it he found nothing but leaves. 
Jesus said to it, " No man shall ever eat fruit from this tree 
again," and passed on. 

His heart was sad as he entered the temple, for there in the 
court of the Gentiles he saw the same sights that had troubled 
him three years before. Money-changers w^ere doing their work, 
and men were buying and selling cattle. He would not allow 
them to carry on their business while he was there, and drove 
them out again as he had before. As they saw how quickly he 
was obeyed, the scribes and Pharisees looked on in wonder and 
hatred. But they did not dare to touch him, so many of the 
people had become his friends. 

All day long Jesus worked in the temple. The lame and the 
blind came to him and were healed ; hundreds of people croAvded 



176 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

about him to hear his words. When the children who had seen 
the jDrocession the day before, and had learned the song of the 
crowds, saw Jesus in the temple, they began to shout the same 
words, ^- Hosanna to the son of David." The priests and scribes 
did not hke this, and said to Jesus, '- Do you hear what these 
children are saying?" Jesus answered, '-Yes; have you not 
read that from little children often comes the most perfect 
praise ? " 

TUESDAY 

Monday night was spent in Bethany again. On Tuesday 
morning, as they went again to Jerusalem, the disciples noticed 
that the fig tree they had passed the day before was dried up from 
the roots and withered away. Peter said, " Master, see how 
quickly this fig tree has withered aAvay." 

Jesus said, " If you have faith in God, you can do greater 
things than that." But he did not want them to think that they 
could ask God to destroy anything because they did not like it ; 
so he told them when they prayed to be sure and forgive all who 
had done them wrong, that the Father in heaven might forgive 
them. '' But if you do not forgive, your Father in heaven will 
not forgive you." 

As soon as they came to Jerusalem, Jesus went into the 
temple. As he was walking through the courts some of the 
Jews came to him, and asked, '^AVhat right have you to come 
here and do these things, and who gave you the right?" They 
meant such things as cleansing the temple and teaching there. 

Jesus said : '' You answer my question, and I will answer 
yours. Was the baptism of John from heaven or of men." This 
means, was John really a prophet of God, or did he pretend to be 
one wdien he w^as not. 

The Pharisees did not know how to answer the question. 
" For," thought they, '• if we say he was from heaven, he will 



THE LAST WEEK OF THE CHRIST'S EARTHLY LIFE 



17T 



say, ^ Why, then, did you not believe him ? ' But if we say he 
was from men, we fear the people, for every one thinks that John 
was surely a prophet." And so they answered, "We cannot tell." 
Jesus said : " Neither will I tell you who gave me the right to do 
these things. 

" A certain man had f™ 
two sons, and he said to 
the first, '• Go, work to- 
day in my vineyard.' 
The son answered, ^I 
will not,' but afterward 
he repented and went. 
The father went to the 
second son and said, 
' Go work to-day in my 
vineyard.' This son an- 
swered, ^I am going, 
sir,' but he did not go. 
Now which of those 
sons best pleased the 
father?" They an- 
swered, "The first." 

Jesus said : " The 
publicans and sinners 
are like that son, and 

they will enter the kingdom of heaven before you do. For John 
came to tell you Avhat you needed to do, and you did not believe 
him and do it. The pu1)licans and sinners did believe him ; 3'ou 
did not repent, but they repented." 

Then he told them another parable. There was a certain 
man who planted a vineyard and put a hedge or fence around it. 
Then he made a place where the grapes could be made into wine, 




Jesus and the Pharisees 



178 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

and built a tower where the workmen could stay to guard it. 
Everything was done to make it safe, and to make the work 
easy. He then rented it to men who were to take care of it, and 
went into a far country. 

When it was time for the fruit to be ready he sent his servants 
to get what belonged to him. But these men who had rented the 
vineyard had not worked, and they had no fruit to give. They 
took the servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 
The owner sent other servants to look after things, and they were 
treated just as badly. 

Last of all he sent his son, saying, '^ Surely they will respect 
my son." But when these men saw the son coming they said 
among themselves: "Here is the son, who will sometime own this 
vineyard. Let us kill him and take it for ourselves." And they 
caught the son and killed him, and threw his body out of the 
vineyard. 

" What," said Jesus, " will the owner of the vineyard do io 
these wicked men?" The scribes answered, "He will destro}' 
them, and rent his vineyard to other men who will do better." 
Jesus said, " That is what God will do to you, for he is the Lord 
of the vineyard, and you are his servants, who are planning to 
kill his Son." 

He spoke another parable about a king who made a feast 
when his son was married, and invited a great many guests. 
When the dinner was ready he sent his servants to tell those who 
were invited to come to the feast, but they would not come. He 
sent still other servants to tell them that everything was ready, 
and it was time for them to be there. But the guests paid na 
attention. One went to his farm and another to his shop ; by 
some the servants were very roughly treated, and at last were 
killed. 

The king heard of it and was so angry that he sent his armies 



THE LAST WEEK OF THE CHRIST'S EARTHLY LIFE 119 

to kill the murderers, and burn their city. Then he said to 
other servants : '^ The wedding feast is ready, but the guests 
who were invited were not worthy to eat it. Go out into the 
streets and call in every one you meet." 

This the servants did, bringing in the good and the bad. At 
the door every one was 
given a robe which he ^ 

was asked to wear at ; 

the feast. 

When the king went 
in to see the guests he 
found one man who 
would not take the robe 
that was offered him, 
and was there in his old 
clothes. The king said, 
" Friend, how did you 
come here without a 
wedding robe?" The 
man said nothing, for 
he had no excuse. 
Then said the king to 
his servants, " Tie him 
hand and foot, and 
take him away and ^ 
punish him." ^^^ ^^^"^g^ ^'^'^ 

The scribes and Pharisees knew that in all these parables 
Jesus meant to show them how unworthy they were. They 
could hardly keep their hands olf of him, but they were afraid to 
touch him when he w^as among so many friends. They went out 
to think up some questions they might ask which would lead him 
into trouble, however he answered them. 




180 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 



Before long tliey sent some men to him who pretended to be 
very friendly, and said : " Master, we know that you are truly 

good, and will answer every 
question in the way that 
pleases God, whether it 
pleases men or not. So 
we want to ask you this 
question : " Is it right to 
pay taxes to the Eoman 
Emperor, or not ? Shall 
we pay them, or shall we 
not?" 

They spoke kindly, but 
Jesus Avas not deceived. He 
knew that, though they 
seemed so friendly, their 
hearts were full of hatred. 
He knew also why they 
asked that question. They 
(lid not see how he could 
answer it without makino' 
enemies. If he said '* No, 
do not pay the taxes," they could give him to the Romans to be 
punished. If he said " Yes, you ought to pay them," he would 
displease most of the Jews, who hated to pay the tax, and who 
thought they would never have to pay it after their king came. 

Jesus said: "Why do you tempt me? Bring me a penny." 
Then, after they had given him one, he asked, " Whose face and 
title are these on the penny?" They said, "Caesar's." Then 
said Jesus, " Give to C^sar the things that are Caesar's, and to 
God the things that are God's." 

After this wise answer they left him, and went away, trying 




Jesus and the Trfbute Money 



THE LAST WEEK OF THE CHRIST'S EARTHLY LIFE 181 

to think of some other question to ask. They tried one after 
another, but his answers were all given in such a way that they 
could find no fault in them. It seems strange to us that the 
very ones who were looking so eagerly for their king should be 
so unwilling to accept him when he came. But they forgot that 
their king was to be poor and humble ; they thought of him only 
as a great soldier. 

It was only a little earlier, on this same day, that he reminded 
them of an old story that they all knew. When Solomon was 
building the great temple, the workmen came upon one stone 
of so queer a shape that, after trying it in a good many places, 
they decided that it was a mistake, and threw it away. But 
when the great work was almost done, the most important stone 
was missing. After long hunting they found the one that they 
had thrown away, tried it, and found that it fitted ! They knew 
what he meant. They had treated him as worthless, but they 
would find that he was the Christ, the Son of God, and their 
great Judge. 

When he was asked, ^^ What is the greatest commandment 
of all ? " Jesus answered : " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God 
with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 
And the second is like it : Thou shalt love thy neighbor as 
thyself." This was a wonderful answer, for if we do these things 
we shall never break one of the commandments. If we love God 
with all our heart we will never w^ant to worship idols, or take 
his name in vain, or break his Sabbath. And if w^e love all 
those around us as well as we do ourselves, we will never want to 
do anything to hurt them or even to make them uncomfortable. 

Then he turned to the Pharisees and asked them this ques- 
tion : '^ What do you think of the Christ ? Who is he ? " They 
answered, '^ The son of David." "How can he be," said Jesus, 
^^for David called him his Lord." No one was able to answer 



182 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

him a word, nor did any one dare to ask him any more ques- 
tions. 

Jesus turned to his disciples and to the people who crow^ded 
about him, and said : '' The scribes and the Pharisees teach you 
the law of Moses, and that you must follow ; but do not follow 
their actions. Tliey teach, but do not themselves do as they 
teach ; they lay heavy burdens on other men's shoulders, but 
they themselves will not carry them ; they do all their deeds to 
be seen by men." 

Then he told these wdcked scribes and Pharisees what he 
knew about them; that, instead of being good teachers for the 
people, they did them harm ; that, though they made a great 
show of loving God, their hearts were very wicked. Jesus was^ 
always loving and kind even to wicked people, if they were sorry 
for their sins, and w^ere ready to try to do better ; but he spoke 
very hard w^ords to these hypocrites, words that they could never 
forget, words that have shown all the people in the world wdio 
have read this story how^ deceitful these men were. And how 
angry it made them ! 

The fact that they were angry show\s that they were not sorry 
for their sins, for if they had been willing to become better men 
they would have been grateful to the Saviour for showing them 
that they needed forgiveness, and for showing them the way to 
receive it. Their anger would have left them, as they thought 
over their lives, and they w^oukl have come to Jesus to be for- 
given, and w^ould not have tried to kill him for telling them the 
truth. Some one said once that when two persons were disputing 
he could tell which was wrong by seeing which one became angry 
first; and it is certainly so very often. 

Jesus then went out of the temple. As he passed through 
the Court of the Women, he saw the people putting gifts of 
money into the boxes which were kept there for that use. Every 



THE LAST WEEK OF THE CHlilST'S EARTHLY LIFE 



183 



■one was expected to, give as much as he could, and there were 
many who were able to put in a good large sum. 

But as Jesus passed the box a very poor woman put in two 
mites. We have no money as small as a mite ; the two mites 
were only about half a 
cent, which was a very 
small gift. But Jesus said 
to his disciples : " Truly 
this poor widow has done 
more than any one else 
here ; for though the rich 
have given more money 
than she has, they still 
have plenty left, while she 
has given all she had." 

This teaches us that 
if we give away only what 
we do not need ourselves, 
it is not being really gen- 
•erous, and the Lord will 
not be so greatly pleased 
with our gift. It is the 
giving until we have to go 
without something we would like to have, or the giving away 
something we would like to keep, that makes us really generous. 
And it is this kind of giving that our Saviour loves, and rewards 
with his blessing. 

A great many people think that those who give great sums 
of money should be thanked and praised, but that those who only 
give a little bit are not worthy of praise. But it is not the large- 
ness of the gift, but the love that prompts it, that shoidd be meas- 
ured. Even a child can give a gift with a great deal of love in it. 




The Widow's Mite 



184 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 



During the day, Philip and Andrew came in to ask their 
Master if he would talk with some Greeks who were waiting; in 
the Court of the Gentiles. Of course, these Greeks were not 
allowed to go into the court where Jesus was teaching, and so he 
gladly went out to them. The Bible does not tell us what they 

said to him, but the an- 

' swer that he gave them 

makes us think that, 

perhaps, knowing the 

wicked plan of the 

J e w s, the y invited 

Jesus to go to their 

country, where he could 

do his work and be safe. 

Jesus might have 

done this, and have 

saved his life, but he 

did not. He said to 

these Greeks : '' Unless 

a grain of wheat falls 

into the ground and 

dies, it does little good ; 

but if it dies, it bears 

much fruit. He that 

loves his life shall lose 

it ; but he that loses 

his life in this world shall have the life that is everlasting. What 

shall I say ? Shall I ask my Father to save me from this troul)le? 

No, I came to this earth for the purpose of saving the people, and 

if my death will make them believe that I am the Son of God and 

that what I have tried to teach them is true, I am willing to die." 

Then he prayed, '^ Father, glorify thy name." He stopped 




Greeks seeking Jesus 



THE LAST WEEK OF THE CHRIST'S EARTHLY LIFE 18^ 

speaking. What was that sound that every one heard ? Some 
said that it thundered ; others, that an angel had spoken to Jesus. 
But some of his dearest friends, who stood near him, heard a 
voice from heaven say, " I have both glorified it, and will glorify 
it again." 

Do you remember that when he was baptized a voice from 
heaven said, " This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well 
pleased " ? And do you remember that other time, when he was 
on the mountain top with Peter, James, and John, that the voice 
said, " This is my beloved Son, hear ye him " ? It was this voice 
which spoke now for the third time. Jesus said to those that 
heard it, " This voice came, not because of me, but for your own 
sakes, that ye might believe." 

Though they had just heard this proof that Jesus was the Son 
of God, many of the Jews would not yet believe him. Some of 
the rulers did believe in their hearts that he was the Christ, but 
they were afraid to say so, for fear that the Sanhedrin, the great 
council, would put them out of the synagogue. They loved the 
praise of men more than the praise of God, and they were afraid 
that they would lose some of the honor that the common people 
had been paying them, if they should join this poor, humble man 
from the little town of Nazareth, and his fisherman disciples. 

As Jesus and his disciples went through the temple gate on 
their way out this afternoon, the disciples, looking back with 
pride, said, " Master, see wdiat beautiful stones these are, and 
what great buildings ! " The Master said, " Yes, they are beautiful 
buildings, but the time is coming when there shall not be left one 
stone upon another." 

The disciples said no more at the time, but as they sat down 
to rest on the w^ay to Bethany, they asked, " Master, when are 
these things you spoke of coming?" He did not tell them the 
exact time, but he said that before that happened there would be 



186 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 



great trouble in the land. They, his friends, would be badly 
treated and put into prison, and some even killed. It would be 
hard to be his followers, and some v;ould give up trying, so that 
they might have an easier life. But he told them that if they 

would always try to 
follow him, no matter 
how hard it was, they 
should be saved at last. 
He told them to be 
always ready, for they 
did not know when 
their Lord would call 
for them. He said much 
that we cannot yet un- 
derstand ; but there is 
enough for us to know 
what he wishes us to do 
while we are waiting 
for his coming. 

He told them that 
if a man left his house 
in charge of his ser- 
vants, and went away, 
without saying when he 
would come back, the 
servants, if they were faithful, would be always ready, and always 
on the watch for their master. 

So, in just the same way, our Master has left us, and given us 
some work to do. ^Ye must be careful to do the work, and to be 
on the watch for his coming, if we are faithful servants. But he 
says in another place, that it would not please the master to find 
that his servants had stopped their work, and had been always 




Watching 



THE LAST WEEK OF THE CHRIST'S EARTHLY LIFE 



187 



standing at the door, wondering and guessing when he would 
<3ome. So we must be careful to do our work, while we are 
waiting. 

He told several other parables that would make them always 
remember the lesson. One was about ten virgins, or young 
women, who went out to meet a bridegroom. It was the custom 
£bt a Jewish wedding for the groom (the man who was to be mar- 
ried) to go with some 

of his friends to meet ^ *-^^- 

the bride at her home, 
where she was dressed 
in her wedding clothes, •^ *^ , ? 



1 




waiting for him. , 

Then the young 
friends of both the bride 
and the groom, with 
torches and music, went 
with them to their new 
home. After all the 
wedding party had gone 
into the house, the 
doors were shut, and 
no one else could sret in. 
Then the marriage took 
place, and the feast that 
followed lasted for many 't_ 

Five of the ten vir- 
gins in the parable were wise, for, not knowing how long they 
would have to wait for the bridegroom, they filled their lamps, 
and took some extra oil with them, for fear the lamps should 
burn out. The other five took only the oil that was in their lamps. 




The Ten Virgins 



188 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

They had to wait so long for the groom that every one of the 
ten virgins fell asleep. At midnight they were aroused by hearing 
some one call out, " The bridegroom is coming." Up they 
jnmped, and looked to see if the lamps w^ere all right. No, they 
had gone out. As the wise maidens took the extra oil and filled 
their lamps, the other five said, '^ Give us some of your oil." But 
the wise ones answered : " No, we cannot do it. There is not 
enough for us and for you too. Go to those who sell oil, and buy 
some for yourselves." 

So the foolish virgins, who had not been careful to see that 
they had enough oil, went to those who sold, bought more, and 
filled their lamps. But before they were back at the house the 
bridegroom came. All those who were ready went with him and 
the bride, in the gay procession, to his house. Then the door 
was shut. 

When the foolish maidens had hlled their lamps, they, too, 
went to the bridegroom's house. But they were too late. They 
knocked on the door, but no one would let them in, and they 
must go sadly away. 

In this parable Jesus is the bridegroom, we are the friends who 
are waiting for his coming. Love for him is the oil which we 
must burn in our hearts, which are the lamps. If we have not 
enough of this love to keep our hearts as bright as they should be 
until our Saviour is ready for us, we cannot enter his home to be 
with him. 

We do not know when he will come, and we must be careful 
and watchful so that we may be ready. There will not be time 
to get ready after we know he is coming. We cannot borrow 
the oil of love from those around us, for, no matter how kind 
and loving our friends are, they are not so loving as our Saviour 
was, and, even if they were, they could not help us be loving if 
we were not willing to try ourselves all the time. 



THE LAST WEEK OF THE CHRIST'S EARTHLY LIFE 



189 



Another parable that he spoke was very much hke the one of 
the man who went into a far country and left his mouey for his 
servants to take care of. But in this case the servants did not 
all have the same amount of money, as they did in the other 
story. One had ^Ye 
talents (a talent is a 
very large sum of 
money) ; another had 
two ; and a third had 
only one. 

But the servants did 
the same with this 
money. The one who 
had the five talents did 
business with it, and 
gained a great deal more 
money with it. The 
one who had the two 
tried as hard, and really 
did as well as the 
o t h e r, th o u g h t h e 
amount of money he 
gained was less. 

But the third one 
in this story, as in the 

other, did not try at all. He said he was afraid of his master, 
and so had hidden the money in the ground, where he could find 
it and return it when the master came home. And then he gave 
him back just the same money that he had received. 

The lesson, too, was the same as in the other story. Though 
we cannot all do the same kind or amount of work, there is some- 
thing for every one to do, and he must do the best he can. 




The Talents 



'ick 



190 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

Another parable was about the time when we shall all have 
finished our worlv on earth, and shall stand before our Father 

in heaven, to hear 
whether he thinks that 
work has been good or 
bad. He called the 
Father the King who, 
when his servants came 
before him, separated 
-^ them, putting some on 

his rig^ht hand and some 
on his left. 

To those on the 
rio^ht hand he said : 
" Come, you blessed, 
into the home which 
has been prepared for 
you ; for I was hungry 
and you fed me ; I was 
thirsty and you gave 
i_ me drink; I was a 

Our Judge stranger and you took 

me in ; I was naked 
and you clothed me ; I was sick and you visited me ; I was in 
prison and you came to see me." 

Then said those on the right hand : " Lord, when did we see 
you hungry and fed you ; or thirsty and gave you drink ? When 
did we see you a stranger and took you in ? or naked and clothed 
you ? Or when did we see you sick or in prison, and visited 
you ? 

The King answered, ^' Because you have done these things 
for my children on the earth you have done them for me." 



THE LAST WEEK OF THE CHRIST'S EARTHLY LIFE 



191 



Then turning to those on his left hand, the King said : " You 
cannot stay here with me, for I was hungry and you did not feed 
me ; I was thirsty and you gave me no drink ; I was a stranger 
and you did not help me ; naked and you did not clothe me ; 
sick and in prison, but you did not visit me." 

Then these people answered the King, saying : ^^ Lord, wdien 
did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick in 
prison, and did not try to help you ? " And the King answered, 




The Conspiracy against Jesus 

" Because you did not do these things for my children on earth 
you did not do it for me." 

After he had finished this long talk with his disciples Jesus 
said to them, " There are only two days now before the Passover 
feast, when I shall be taken away from you." It was with sad 
hearts that they went back to Bethany that night. 

And now we come to a very sad part of the history. One of 
Jesus' own disciples, Judas Iscariot, decided to give him up to 



192 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

the people who hated him so, if only he could get some money 
for doing it. He had the purse and carried all the money, and 
loved it more than he loved his Master. 

There was a meeting of the Pharisees that same evening, 
Tuesday. They w^ere very angry, and were planning what they 
could do with this Jesus, who dared to talk to them as he did in 
the temple that day. They were still determined to kill him, but 
they did not know how to do it, for he seemed to have so many 
friends. 

They had just decided that it must be done secretly, and not 
until the feast was over, and the people from the country had 
gone home (for they were the ones who would defend him), when 
Judas came before them, and asked them, " How nuicli will you 
give me if T tell you where you can find Jesus ? " They were 
glad to make any kind of a bargain with him, for they knew that 
he would show them a place where they could find Jesus alone, 
without any of his friends near him. So they offered Judas thirty 
pieces of silver, or about seventeen dollars. Judas agreed to do 
it for that sum of money, and left them. From that time he 
watched for a chance to sell his Lord. 



THURSDAY 

We do not know what Jesus did on Wednesday. The Bil)le 
says that he went every morning to the temple, and taught all 
day, and perhaps he did the same this day. But nothing is told 
of what he taught, or of anything that happened. A good many 
who have studied about it think that this Wednesday was an 
exception, and that he spent it quietly at Bethany with those 
who loved him so. We hope so, for it w^as his last quiet day. 

Thursday was the last day of the Passover feast, and in the 
evening the Passover lamb was eaten. Every Jewish family had 



THE LAST WEEK OF THE CHRIST'S EARTHLY LIFE 193 

a lamb this day, which the father took to the temple. There it 
was killed, and the priest burned the fat upon the altar. The 
father then took the rest of the lamb home, where it was roasted 
and eaten with bitter herbs. If a family was too small or too 
poor to eat a whole lamb, two or three families ate one together. 

We have seen before that Jesus and his twelve disciples 
formed a sort of family, and they were to eat the Passover 
together at this time. So on Thursday morning Jesus said to 
Peter and John, "Go to Jerusalem and prepare the Passover 
that we may eat it." The disciples said, " Where shall we go?" 
for they knew of no place where they would be welcome. 

Jesus answered : " When you come to the city you will meet 
a servant carrying a pitcher of water. Follow him into the 
house where he enters, and say to the master of the house, ' The 
Master wants your guest chamber for a place where he can eat 
the Passover with his disciples.' He will show you a large upper 
room, furnished with tables and couches. Use that room, and 
make the supper ready." 

The two disciples went to the city and found everything as 
the Master had said, and prepared the Passover supper. When 
evening came Jesus and the other disciples joined them. There 
seems to have been a little trouble about choosing their seats, and 
deciding who should have the seat of honor; for they did not 
yet know the lesson their Master had tried so often to teach them. 
He taught them this lesson once again, in a way that they never 
forgot. 

Not only was there trouble about the seats, but no one was 
willing to take the part of the servant, and wash the dusty feet 
before they began to eat. We have seen that this was one of the 
things that should be done, because the people then did not wear 
shoes and stockings as we do now, but only sandals, fastened on 
their bare feet. A walk of several miles over the dusty roads 



J94 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 



would make them very micomfortable, and if they had had a ser- 
vant, one of the first tilings he would have done for them would 
have been to wash their feet. 

Jesus waited until they were all seated, and it was certain 
that no one was willing to do this servant's work. Then, rising 
from the table, he took off his outer garment, got a basin of 
water, and began to Avash their feet, and to wipe them with the 
towel which he had put around his waist in the way the servants 
did. 

The disciples must have been very much surprised and 

ashamed to see their 
^ ^#^ f^^ Master doing the work, 

but no one seems to 
have said anything un- 
til it came Peter's turn 
to be washed. Perhaps 
they were too much 
ashamed to speak. But 
Peter said, "Lord, why 
do you wash my feet ? '^ 
His Master said, "You 
do not know now why 
I do it, but you will 
know some time." 

Peter was not Avill- 
ing to let it be done, 
and said, " You shall 
never wash my feet." 
Then Jesus said, " If 
I do not wash them you 




jesus washing the Feet of the Disciples 



cannot love me, for my friends are willing to obey me." 

Now Peter did love his Lord dearly^ and, though it was not 



THE LAST WEEK OF THE CHRIST'S EARTHLY LIFE 195^ 

riQ:lit for him to hold back, even if he could not bear to have 
his Master do for him the work of a servant, yet he did so because 
of his love and respect for Jesus. So, if being v\rashed by his 
Master showed that he truly loved him, he was more than willing 
that it should be done, and he said, '^ Lord, wash not only my 
feet, but my head and my hands." Jesus understood Peter. He 
knew that this disciple loved him, and was trying hard to be like 
his Master, loving and pure ; so he said, " He that is clean needs 
only to have his feet washed ; and most of you, my disciples, are 
clean, but not all." Judas was with them, and Jesus knew of 
the bargain he had made with the Jews ; that is why he said^ 
'^ You are not all clean." 

After he had washed the feet of the twelve, Jesus put on his 
robe again, and sat down, saying : '^ Do you know what I have 
done to you? You call me your Master and your Lord, and that 
is right. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your f eet^ 
you ought to be willing to wash one another's feet ; for I have 
given you an example, that you should do to others as you would 
have them do to you. The servant is not greater than his mas- 
ter ; you will be happy when you have learned this lesson." 

The lesson was, not that every one must wash the feet of 
others, for that is not the custom now, as it was then ; but that 
we must be ready to do anything to help our friends, even the 
humblest, most disagreeable services. 

The time was now drawing near when the Saviour of the 
world must give up his life for the people. He looked troubled 
and sad as he said, " One of you is going to betray me." To 
betray means to give some one up to his enemies. Was it not 
too bad that one of those men whom Jesus had most taught and 
loved should turn out to be so 'wicked ? 

The disciples looked at one another, wondering who it could 
be : first one and then another asked Jesus, " Lord, is it I ? "^ 



196 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 



Judas was one of those who asked this question, but probably 
the rest of the disciples did not hear the answer, for Peter 
motioned to John wlio was lying close to Jesus, with his head 
on the Master's breast, to ask him who would do so dreadful a 
thing. 

Then John asked, ''Who is it, Lord?" Jesus answered, "It 
is the one to whom I shall give a sop, after I have dipped it." 
Dipping the sop Avas another Jewish custom. On the table there 
was one large dish of food, and usually each one at the table put 
his fing:ers into this dish and took from it what he wanted. But 
sometimes one person would dip a piece of bread into the dish 

and then pass the bread, 
and what came out with 
it, to some one else ; that 
was the sop, and that is 
what Jesus now passed 
to Judas. As he gave 
it to him he said, 
" What you are going 
to do, do quickly." 

The other men at 

the table did not know 

what their Master meant. 

Some of them thought 

that because Judas car- 

! ried the money-bag he 

i had been sent out to buy 

' something for the feast, 

or to give something to 

the poor. But Judas 

knew what Jesus meant, 




The Passover Feast 



and went out at once. It was now dark nio-ht. 



THE LAST WEEK OF THE CHRIST'S EARTHLY LIFE 



197 




'W^ 



After Judas had gone out, and only those were left who truly 
loved the Master, came what we usually call '^ The Last Supper." 
Jesus took some of the bread 
that was on the table, and 
after he had thanked God 
for giving it to them, he 
broke it in pieces and gave 
it to his disciples, saying, 
" Take this and eat it ; for it 
stands for my body, which 
will be broken for you." 
Then he took a cup of 
wine, and after again giv- 
ing thanks, passed the cup 
to his disciples, saying, 
■'^ Drink ye every one of this ; 
for it stands for my blood, 
which is shed to wash aw^ay 
your sins." 

From that time until 
now^, in the church service, 
people eat the bread and 
drink the wine in memory 
of their Lord's death. We 
call it the Communion Service, or the Lord's Supper. 

After this Jesus and his disciples sang a hymn. We can 
know what this hymn probably was, for the Jews always sang 
certain Psalms after they had finished eating the Passover, and 
those were probably what were sung now. They were Psalms 
115-118, and you can read them yourselves in your own Bibles. 

After singing the hymn they left the house and went to the 
foot of the Mount of Olives, where there was a garden where 



The Last Supper 



198 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

Jesus had often been before. As they went along the Master 
talked to his disciples, and said some of the words that have been 
the most precious to all who love him. He began by telling 
them that his death was to come very soon. 

^* Little children," he said, " I shall be with you only a little 
while longer. I am going where you cannot follow me now ; but 
sometime you will come to be with me. There is one thing that 
I want you to be sure and remember, and that is, to love one 
another as I have loved you. If you do that, every one will know 
that vou have learned from me." 

Peter said : " Lord, where are you going ? Why cannot we 
follow you now ? " His Master answered sadly, '' This very 
night you and all the rest of my friends will leave me and will 
be ashamed to own that you ever knew me." Peter then said, in. 
his quick wa}' : " No, Lord, though every one else should be 
ashamed of you, I will not be ashamed. I am ready to go to 
prison, or I will die to save you." 

His Lord knew him better than he did himself, and said : 
'' You will die to save me, Peter ? I tell you that before the cock 
crows in the morning you will deny me three times ; you will say 
that you are not my friend, and never knew me." Peter could 
not believe that it would be so, and said earnestly, '^ Though I 
should die with you, I will not deny you." All the rest of the 
apostles said the same thing. 

But we shall see that their Master knew them best, after all. 

Jesus tried to comfort his friends, for they were all feeling 
very sad. ''Let not your hearts be troubled," said he; "you 
believe in God, believe also in me. I am going to my Father's 
house, and there is room there for you, too. I will go and pre- 
pare a place for you, and then I will come again and take you 
with me, that where I am, there you. will be also. I am the way, 
the truth, and the life. No man can come to the Father unless 



THE LAST WEEK OF THE CHRIST'S EARTHLY LIFE 



199 



lie loves me, and comes in that way. He that learns what I have 
taught, and keeps my commandments, is the one that loves me ; 
a,nd he that loves me shall be loved by my Father, and T will 
love him. 

" I am the vine, you are the branches ; unless the branches 
cling to the vine and draw their life from it, they cannot bear 
fruit ; neither can you 
do good works unless 
you cling to me. Re- 
m^ember my command, 
that you love one an- 
other. The world will ' 



not love 



yo^b 



for the 




same reason that they 
have not loved me. 
They will put you out 
of the synagogue; they 
will put you in prison ; 
they will even kill you, 
because you cling to me. 
But, when the time of 
trouble comes, remem- 
ber what I have told 
you, and remember that 
you are not suffering 
^ny more than your 
Master did before you. 

I shall not be here to help you ; I shall be with my Father ; but 
if you ask the Father to help you for my sake, he will do it." 

AYith these words and many more Jesus comforted his loved 
friends, and told them what to do after he had left them. Then, 
lifting up his eyes to heaven, he prayed to the Father, and asked 



The Vine and the Branches 



200 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 



him to keep these men pure ; to help them remember what he 
had taught them, and to give them the power to go into the world 
and teach other men what they had learned. He prayed, too. for 
all who should afterward be led to love and trust him, throuo-h 
these his friends. When their earthly work was done, as his was 

now, he asked that they 
might also be taken to 
live with the Father in 
heaven. 

They had now 
reached the little gar- 
den near the foot of the 
Mount of Olives, where 
thev were croino;. This 
garden was called Geth- 
semane. Jesus had of- 
ten taken his disciples 
there, and he loved it 
dearly. When they had 
come into the garden, 
Jesus said to the dis- 
ciples, " Sit here, while 
I pray." Then, taking 
Peter, James, and John, 
he went a little farther 
on, and said to them : 
'^ My soul is very sorrowful. This troul^le seems more than I can 
bear; stay here and Avatch." 

He went on still farther alone, and fell on the ground, praying : 
'^ Father, if it be possible, save me from this great sorrow. 
Yet, not my will, but thine, be done." The three disciples heard 
this much of the prayer ; but when their Master returned to them 




Jesus in the Garden 



THE LAST WEEK OF THE CHRIST'S EARTHLY LIFE 201 

for comfort, he found them, not watching, but fast asleep. They 
were his three dearest friends, but even they were not ready to 
help him now, when he so much needed their help. He said to 
Peter : " Simon, could you not watch with me one hour ? You 
will need to watch and pray, or you will fall into temptation ; 
you want to do right, but you are very weak." 

Again he left them to pray for strength ; again they heard 
him say, "Father, if this trouble cannot pass from me, and I 
must bear it, thy will be done." He came to his disciples once 
more, and found them sleeping. 

For the third time he left them and prayed in the same words, 
while they slept. When he came back the third time, he said to 
them, " Sleep on now, and take your rest ; for the time is come 
when the Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of sin- 
ners." 

But their sleep for that night was over ; and in sleeping when 
they should have stayed awake they had lost their last chance to 
help their Master. It seems as if we would have stayed awake 
wuth our Master, if we had been there w^ith them. But we do not 
know what we would have done, and we must not blame them. 
They were very weary ; the hour was late ; and they had spent a 
hard and sorrowful day. 



202 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 



FRIDAY 



Not very long after Jesus had returned to his disciples for the 
third time, perhaps very soon, they heard him say, '' Rise, let us 
be going ; for he that will betray me is near." They were on 
their feet before he finished speaking, and at the same moment 
saw Judas coming toward them, and with him a crowd of men 

armed with swords and 
sticks, and carrying 
torches. 

Judas had been busy 
since he had left his 
friends in the upper 
room. He saw them 
leave the house, and fol- 
lowed them until he was 
sure where they Avere 
L>oing;. He knew the 
garden well, for he had 
often been there with 
his Master and the other 
disciples. 

As soon as he was 
sure that they were 
going to the place he 
knew so well, he rushed 
to tell the priests and 
the Pharisees, that now was the time to seize Jesus, for there 
was no one with him but a few disciples. The Jews quickly 
gathered together a band, of men, armed them with swords and 
iieavy sticks, and put Judas at the head of this company. Then 




The Approach of Judas 



THE LAST WEEK OF THE CHRIST'S EARTHLY LIFE 



203 



Judas led the men to the place where he had so often sat and 
listened to his Master's words. 

He had given the rnen this sign, " The man whom I kiss is 
the one you want; hold him fast." As they drew near, Jesus 
walked toward them, 
and Judas kissed him, 
saying, "Hail, Master." 
Jesus did not push him 
away ; he did not even 
speak unkindly to him ; 
but, looking with eyes 
full of sorrow and pity 
at the man he had 
chosen for his friend, the 
Master said, " Judas, 
betrayest thou the Son 
of man with a kiss ? " 

The disciples, who 
were now wide awake, 
saw that their Master 
was in danger. They 
had two swords among 
them, and Peter said, 
^' Lord, shall we strike 
them with our swords?" Without waiting for an answer, be 
struck a servant of the High Priest, and cut off his ear. Jesus 
said : " Put up your sword into its place, Peter. Do you not know 
that I can, even now, pray to my Father, and he would give me 
a great army of angels ? But I must finish my work. I must 
die to save the world." And he touched the ear of the man and 
healed it. 

Then, turning to the armed men, he asked, " Whom seek 




Betrayal of Christ 



204 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 



ye?" '^ Jesus of Nazareth," they answered. "I am he," said 
the Saviour. Tlie men were so astonished to have him give him- 
self up without trying to defend himself or let his apostles defend 
him, that they fell backward. 

Again the Saviour asked, " Whom seek ye ? " and again they 
answered, " Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus said: "I have told you 
already that I am he. If therefore you seek me, let these, my 

friends, go. Why did 
you come out as against 
a thief, with swords and 
clubs ? I sat with you 
every day in the temple, 
and you did not lay a 
hand on me." 

They now took hold 
of Jesus, bound him, 
and led him away. 
Though all the dis- 
ciples had boasted that 
they would never leave 
their Master, every one 
of them ran off and left 
him alone with these 
cruel men. 

They took him first 
to the house of Annas, 
the High Priest, and 
then to Caiaphas, his 
son-in-law, who was the one who really did the work of the High 
Priest at this time. He was the man who had said that it was 
better that Jesus should die, and was one of those who had tried 
the hardest to stop the teaching of the Christ. 




Jesus before Caiaphas 



THE LAST WEEK OF THE CHRIST'S EARTHLY LIFE 205 

Peter and John had by this time come back to see what was 
being done with their Master. John, who was known at the 
palace of the High Priest, was allowed to go inside ; but Peter 
could go no farther than the outside door. John went out and 
spoke to the woman who had charge of the door, and asked her to 
let Peter go in also. As she showed him in the woman asked, 
''Are you not one of this man's disciples?" "No, I am not," 
said Peter. Then he went in and stood at the fire with some of 
the servants to warm himself, for it was cold. 

All this time Jesus was standing before Caiaphas, who was 
asking him questions about his disciples and about his teaching. 
The Saviour said : " I have taught where every one who wished 
to do so could hear me ; I have said nothing in secret, but have 
taught in the synagogue and in the temple where all the Jews 
come together. Why do you ask me what I have taught ? Ask 
those which heard me, what I have said to them." 

When he had spoken these words one of the officers which stood 
by struck him with the palm of the hand, saying, " Why do you 
answer the High Priest so ?" Jesus said : '' Did I say anything 
wrong ? If I did, tell us what it was ; but if not, why did you 
strike me ? " 

The chief priests tried hard to find some one who could tell 
of some law which Jesus had broken, or of something^ wrono; he 
had tried to teach. But they could not do it until, at last, they 
found two or three men who were willing to tell lies about him. 
But, as the stories of these men did not agree, there was nothing 
in them to prove the prisoner guilty. 

Caiaphas stood up, and looking at Jesus, asked, "- Have you 
nothhig to say about these stories which they tell of you ? " Jesus 
did not answer. The High Priest then said : " Answer me. Are 
you the Christ, the Son of God ? " Jesus said, "I am." Upon 
hearing these words, Caiaphas said to the rest of the council : 



206 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

" We do not need to hear anything more, for we ourselves have 
heard what the man has just said. What do you think of 
him?" They all shouted, ^^ He is guilty; he must be put to 
death." 

Now all this happened before the sun rose, though by law the 
Sanhedrin could not try a prisoner until after sunrise. So they 
had to wait till that time before a vote could really be taken. 
Jesus was put in charge of some officers, who treated him so 
badly that we cannot bear to think of it. They blindfolded him, 
then struck him, and asked, ''Tell us who struck you"; they 
spit in his face ; they said everything they could think of to make 
fun of him and hurt his feelings. 

As soon as the sun rose, which was al)out six o'clock, the 
officers led their prisoner into the regular courtroom. To get 
there they had to pass through the porch where Simon Peter was 
standing with some of tlie servants. When we last saw Peter, he 
was warming himself at the fire ; but after he w^as warm he had 
gone out into the porch to wait until the trial was over. 

He had been there only a short time when a girl said to the 
others, '' This fellow is one of the men who w^ere with Jesus of 
Nazareth." Peter, who knew that tbose who were around him 
were unfriendly to his Master, was afraid to own him. '' I do 
not know the man," said he. About an hour later a man who 
had been watching Peter carefully, said, " This fellow must have 
been with Jesus ; for I saw him in the garden with him, and you 
can tell by the way he speaks that he came from Galilee." Again 
Peter said, '' I do not know this man of whom you speak." 

Just then the cock crowed, and Peter, who but a few hours 
before had boasted that he would go to prison with his Master, or 
even die for him, remembered wdiat his Lord had said when he 
made that boast, '• I tell you that, before the cock crows, you 
will have denied me three times." 



THE LAST WEEK OF THE CHRIST'S EARTHLY LIFE 



20' 



Now just at the moment when Peter has said '• I know not 
the man," Jesus, who was bemg led to the courtroom, passed 
through the porch and heard what his friend and disciple said. 
As Peter raised his eyes, his Lord turned and looked at him. It 
was the same loving face that had looked at him for the last 
three years, but with 
such a sad and grieved 
look that it almost broke 
Peter's heart. He never 
forgot that look. It was 
too late to be sorry, but 
he went out and wept 
bitter tears. 

The court was ready 
to take the vote at once. 
The cjuestion was asked 
of Jesus : " Are you 
the Christ? Tell us." 
Jesus answered : " If I 
tell you, you will not 
believe me ; and if I 
ask you, you will not 
answer me, or let me 




go. 



The time is comino: 



Peter's Denial 



when the Son of man 
shall sit on the right hand of God." Then they all said, '^ Are 
you the Son of God?" He told them that he was, and that, 
at the end of the world, they would see him coming in power 
with the angels with him to be the judge. 

They said, " That is enough ; he has spoken blasphemy ; we do 
not need to hear anything more." The vote was then put, and 
it was decided that he should die. 



208 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

Now, as they could not put liim to death without having per- 
mission from the Roman Governor, and as no other punishment 
but death would satisfy them, they made their plans to take Jesus 
at once to the Roman courtroom, where he should be judged by 
Pilate, the Roman Governor. 

Pilate lived away from Jerusalem the most of the time, but 
he happened to be in the city now, for so many strangers came 
to this Passover Feast every year, that he tliought it was the 
safest plan to be on hand in case there was any trouble to settle. 
The whole multitude rose and followed the officers who led Jesus 
through the streets to the courtroom which was in Pilate's 
house. 

Judas had known all that was going on, and when he saw 
that the vote had been taken, and that Jesus must really die, he 
was sorry for what he had done, and tried to undo it. He brought 
back the money that had been given him for betraying bis Lord, 
and offered it to the chief priests and scribes, saying, " I have 
been very wicked and have betrayed a man who has done no 
wrong." ^' What is that to us?" said they; "that is your 
business."- 

They would not take back the money, and, much as Judas 
loved money, he did not want that which had cost his Master's 
life. Throwing it down on the floor, he went out of the room, 
very miserable and unhappy. By his mean act he had gained 
thirty pieces of silver, but in gaining it he had lost liis own soul. 
He was never seen alive again. The Bible says he went out and 
hanged himself. 

The priests were not willing to put the money into the temple 
boxes, because, as they said, it was " the price of blood." So as 
they did not know what else to do with it, they l^ought a piece 
of land, which they used as a burial ground for strangers, whom 
they did not wish to bury in their own tombs. 



THE LAST WEEK OF THE CHRIST'S EARTHLY LIFE 



209 



Jesus was led into Pilate's house, but tlie priests and scribes 
stayed outside. It was Passover week, the week when they made 
a great show of being holy. Though they were wicked enough 
to want to kill a good man^ they were not wicked enough to step 
into the house of a 
Gentile ! So Pilate came 
out to them, asking : 
" What has the man 
done ? What charge 
have you to bring 
against him ? " 

They answered, "If 
he were not a wicked 
man, we would not have 
brought him to you." 
Said Pilate, "Take him 
to your own court, and 
judge him by your law." 
The only thing they 
could prove in their own 
court, as w^e know, w^as 
that he called himself 
the Son of God ; but 
they knew that Pilate 
would laugh at such a charge as that, and so they had to make 
up some other story to tell him. 

They said : " We found this fellow trying to lead the people 
into disobedience, telling them not to pay taxes to C^sar, and 
saying that he himself is their king. We think that he ought to 
be killed, but it is not lawful for us to put any man to death." 
Were they telling the truth ? Do you remember what Jesus did 
say when they asked him about paying the taxes to Csesar ? 




Jesus led before Pilate 



210 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

While Pilate ^yas outside, talking to the people, Jesus stood in 
the courtroom. Pilate now went back to him, and asked him, 
'^ Are you the king of the Jews ? " Jesus said, " Do you ask 
this question because you want to know, or because these people 
say that I am ? " " Am I a Jew ? " said Pilate. '* The chief 
priests of your own nation have brought yoa to me. What have 
you done ? " 

Jesus said : " I am not the kind of king that you mean ; if I 
were, my servants would fight for me, and I should not be given 
up to the priests. Mine is a very different kingdom ; it is not of 
this world." Pilate asked, '' Are you, then, a king ? " " Yes," 
said Jesus, " I am a king. I came into the world for the purpose 
of ruling men ; I came to teach them the truth, and every one 
who is true believes my words. " " What is truth ? " asked 
Pilate. But, without waiting for an answer, he went back to the 
Jews who still stood outside, waiting patiently for him to return. 
Pilate had foimd no reason why they should w^ant to harm this 
gentle, loving man, who showed so plainly that he did not want 
to make any trouble. So he said to the chief priests and scriljes, 
" I find no fault with the man." They cried out, '' He is stirring 
up the people with his teachings throughout all Palestine from 
Galilee to Judea." 

When Pilate heard tliem say " Galilee," he saw a chance to 
clear himself from decidino; what should be done. He was triad 
of the chance, and asked : '' Is the man a Galilean ? Then he 
must be taken to Herod." Herod, the ruler of Galilee, was also 
in Jerusalem at this time, for he had come to the feast. He was 
very glad to see Jesus ; he had wanted to do so for a long time, 
because he had heard so much about him. He hoped that he 
should see him work some of his wonderful miracles, of which he 
had heard. 

Herod asked questions of Jesus, and the priests and scribes 



THE LAST WEEK OF THE CHRIST'S EARTHLY LIFE 



211 



i^i.C-ri 




told the same wrong stories about him that they had told Pilate. 
But the Saviour stood there, neither answering the questions nor 
denying the stories. Herod and his soldiers laughed at the idea 
of this prisoner being a king, and began to make fun of him. 
Tlien Herod sent for a king's robe, put it on Jesus, and sent hini 
back to the Governor of Judea. 

Again Jesus stood before Pilate. Pilate went out once more- 
to the people and said : '' You have brought this man to me, and 
you say he is stirring ^ _^__ „. ,^ 

up the people to disobey 
the Koman govern- 
ment ; but I have ex- 
amined him, and so has 
Herod, and neither of 
us thinks that he has 
done anything worthy 
of death. Therefore I 
will have him whipped, 
and then let him go." 

The Jews showed 
that they were not sat- 
isfied. It was the cus- 
tom at the Passover 
feast for the governor 
to set one prisoner free ; 
and to please the people 
the choice was usually 
left to them. At this 
time there was a very wicked man in prison, named Barabbas, 
who was both a murderer and a robber. Pilate now said, '^ Whom 
do you want to have me set free, Barabbas, or Jesus who is called 
the Christ ? " They all cried out at once, '' Barabbas ! " 




Jesus before Pilate 



212 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

Pilate, who wanted to set Jesus free, spoke again, ^' What 
i?hall I do with him whom you call the king of the Jews ? " The 
people cried out, " Crucify him ! " " Why, what evil has he 
done?" asked Pilate; but they only cried the louder, "Crucify 
him ! " 

They meant, " Let him die on the cross," and that was the 
most cruel punishment ever known. The body was fastened to a 
heavy wooden cross by great nails, which were driven through 
the hands and feet, and the pain was terrible. The cross was 
put in an upright position, and the prisoner was not taken down 
until he was dead. It was too dreadful a punishment for the 
most wicked man that ever lived. 

When Pilate saw that they were determined, and that he 
could not make them do what was right, he called for water, 
and, washing his hands before them all, said : " I am not guilty 
of doing this great wickedness. You must take it upon your- 
selves." The Jews, glad to know that Pilate would let them 
have their way, said, '' Let the blame rest on us, and on our 
children, forever." 

The blame did rest on them and their children, and punish- 
ment came very soon. Forty years later, when the Roman arm}* 
left their once beautiful citv, not a sing:le Ixiildino; was left stand- 
ing, and all the people who were not killed at the time were 
driven away from their homes. Many of them were taken captive 
by the Romans, and afterward put to death. 

Then Pilate set Barabbas free, and sent Jesus away to be 
whipped, as was ahvays done before a man was crucified. The 
soldiers hurried their prisoner away, and, after they had whipped 
him, began to make fun of him as Herod had done. Because 
purple is the king's color, they found an old purple robe, which 
they put upon this king of the Jews. They made a crown out 
of some thorns, and pressed it down upon his forehead until the 



THE LAST WEEK OF THE CHRIST'S EARTHLY LIFE 



213 



blood came. They bowed before him, as if he were a king, say- 
ing : '' Hail, king of the Jews ! " They struck him on the head, 
and spit on him. 

When they had had all they wanted of this cruel mocking, 
they took him back to Pilate. The Governor determined to try 
once more to make the 
Jews willing to let him 
set Jesus free. He went 
out with him before the 
people, and said : " I bring 
him out to you that you 
may know that I find no 
fault in him. Behold the 
man ! 

Jesus showed how much 
lie had already suffered ; 
was it not enough to sat- 
isfy these wicked Jews ? 
No ; again they cried out, 
^^ Crucify him!" Pilate 
said, '^ Then take him and 
crucify him ; for I find no 
fault in him." But both 
Pilate and the Jews knew 
that they could not put a 
man to death without the 
permission they were try- 
ing so hard to get. 

The Jews then said, " We have a law, and by our law he 
ought to die ; for he made himself the Son of God." Pilate was 
still more afraid. He did not dare to crucify the Son of God. 
He was afraid for another reason, too ; for, while he w^as in the 




'•Behold the Man! 



214 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

courtroom, his wife had sent this word to him, '' Have nothing^ 
to do with that just man, for I have been troubled all day because 
of a dream that I had about liim," 

So he turned again to Jesus, and asked, '^ Who are you ? " 
The prisoner made no answer. '^ Will you not speak to me ? " 
said the Governor. " Do you not know that I have power to 
crucify you and to set you free ? " Then Jesus did speak. '^ You 
could have no power at all against me, except it were given you 
from above. Those who gave me up to you have sinned more 
than you have." Pilate then made up his mind to let Jesus go 
free. 

The Jews saw that he was about to do tliis, and cried : " If 
you let this man go free, you are no friend to Ca3sar ; for who- 
ever calls himself king speaks against Caesar." Hearing this cry, 
Pilate changed his mind once more. If the Jews complained of 
him to the Emperor, another Governor might be put in his place. 
He would rather do wrong than have that happen. 

Once more he tried to make the Jews pity their suffering 
Christ. " Behold your king ! " said he ; " shall I crucify your 
king?" "We have no king but Caesar," shouted they. What 
an answer from those very people who hated to be under the 
Roman power, and were so very unliappy because they were 
obliged to obey the Roman Emperor. 

There was nothing more that Pilate could do, unless he was 
willing to give up his position for the sake of doing what was 
right. That he was not willing to do. So he gave the order that 
Jesus should be crucified. 



THE DEATH AND BURIAL OF THE CHRIST 



'^^- 



It was nearly nine o'clock on Friday morning when Jesus was 
led out of the city to be crucified. He had to carry his own 

cross a part of the Avay, _ ^ 

but later on one of his i 

friends was ordered to \ 

carry it for him. A 
great company followed 
him, and many of the 
w o m e n cried aloud . 
Turning to these, Jesus 
said : " Daughters of 
Jerusalem, weep not for 
me, but weep for your- 
selves and for your chil- 
dren. The days are 
€oming when you will 
wish that your children 
liad never been born, 
and that the mountains 
and hills would hide you 
from the trouble your 
€yes shall see." 

There were two thieves who were to be crucified this same 
day, and they also were in the procession. They marched out 
through the city gate to the place called Calvary, and there the 
cruel work was done. Jesus was nailed to the cross which stood 
in the middle, and the thieves were placed one on his right hand 
and one on his left. 

The Saviour did not speak until the cross was being lifted ; 
then he said, " Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." 

215 




Jesus bearing the Cross 



216 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

Soldiers were left to guard the crosses ; but these men felt no 
pity, and began at once to cast lots to see what share each should 
have of the clothes ^Yhich had been taken from the men who were 
behig crucified. 

A title, or sign, had been written to place over each cross, 
telling what the man's name Avas, and what wicked thing he had 
done. Over the cross of Jesus, Pilate had put this sign : '^ Jesus, 
of Nazareth, the king of the Jews." This w^as Avritten in three 
different languages, so that every one could read it. When the 
rulers of the Jews saw this sign, they were not willing to have it 
stay there, and went to Pilate, saying : " The sign is wrong. 
Write not The king of the Jews, but that he said, I am the 
king of the Jcavs." But Pilate had done all he wanted to for 
them, aud woukl not change it. 

People came from the city to see what was going on, and as 
they passed by, mocked tlie Saviour, saying, " If you are the Son 
of God come down from the cross." The chief priests and scribes 
smiled as they said : '' He saved others ; himself he cannot save. 
If he is the king of Israel let him come down from the cross, and 
we will believe him. He trusted in God ; let his Father save him 
now, if he is the Son of God." 

The soldiers also mocked him, offering him sour wine, and 
saying: ^'If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself." One 
of the thieves at his side repeated what he heard the others say,. 
'^ If you are the Christ, save yourself and us." The other thief 
was ashamed of him and told him to stop, saying, " It is right 
that we should be punished, for we have been wicked men, but 
this man has done nothing wrong." He then turned to Jesus and 
said, '^ Lord, you will remember me when you come into your 
kingdom ? " And Jesus answered, " To-day shall thou be with me 
in Paradise." 

The enemies of Jesus were not the only ones who stayed near- 



THE DEATH AND BURIAL OF THE CHRIST 



21T 



him ; some women drew near the cross, and among them was Mary^ 
his mother. She stood by John, and as Jesus saw tliem standing 
together, he said to his mother, *^ Behold your son;" and to 
John, "Behold your mother." John knew by this that his 
Master wanted him to take 
care of Mary. From that 
hour he took tlie Motlier 
of the Christ to his own 
home, and cared for her. 

It was now a little after 
twelve o'clock, the time 
when the sun should have 
been shining more brightly 
than it had shone all day. 
But it began to be dark, 
and for three hours the 
darkness of night was over 
the land. The afternoon 
passed away, and every 
moment brought greater 
pain to the Saviour. It 
was dark about him ; there 
was no one to comfort 
him ! It seemed as if even 
his Father had left him, 
and he cried, ''My God, 
my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" 

Some of the people who stood by, when they heard this cry, 
said, "He is calling for Elias ; let him alone ; let us see whether 
Elias will come to take him down." (One of the words he used 
was Eloi, which sounded a little like the word Elias.) 

A few minutes passed, and Jesus said, ''I thirst." Some 




he Crucifixion 



218 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

kind friend dipped a sponge in sour wine and pressed it to his 
lips. When he had taken it, lie cried, "It is iiuished." Just a 
moment later he added, '* Father, into thy hands I connneud my 
spirit." His sufferings were all over now ; his earthly life was 
.ended ; his spirit had gone to be with the Father. 

Just then there was a great earthquake ; the earth shook, 
great rocks were broken in pieces, a great noise was heard, and 
the graves were opened. The curtain in the temple, which sepa- 
rated the two rooms, and was ncA^er lifted except on the great 
Day of Atonement, was torn from top to bottom. 

When the soldier who was on guard at the cross saw what 
was done, he said, '^ Truly this was the Son of God." The peo- 
ple who had come from Jerusalem to see the crucifixion, were 
afraid, and returned to the city. The friends of Jesus stood afar 
off, filled with sadness and wonder. 

Seven times Jesus had spoken while he was on the cross. 
These are called now '- The Seven Words from the Cross." They 
have been printed differently from the rest, in the last few pages, 
so that you may all see just what they were. Notice that there 
is not one word of anger against those who had made him suffer 
so, and that three of them were words of kindness. Could we l)e 
.as loving and kind, if we were being made to suffer so ? 

There were two men in the Sanhedrin who had tried to save 
.Jesus, for they believed all he said to them ; one was Nicodemus, 
and the other was a rich man by the name of Joseph. Soon after 
the Saviour died, Joseph went to Pilate, and begged that he might 
have the body. Pilate first called to him the soldier who had 
guarded the cross, to ask him whether Jesus was surely dead, 
for sometimes people who were crucified lived and suffered for 
many days. But the Jews had been very anxious that these 
bodies should not hang on the cross through that Sabbath, which 
was especially holy. So the soldiers had broken the legs of the 



THE DEATH AXD BURIAL OF THE CHRIST 



219 



thieves so that they would die more quickly. But they had 
passed Jesus by, for they saw that he was already dead. The 
soldier whom Pilate called to him knew that it was really so, for 
he had himself put a spear through his side. He had done this 
because, if they had made a mistake, and Jesus was not dead, the 
soldiers might lose their own lives. 

So Pilate gave the body to Joseph. Joseph had a new tomb 
cut out of the rock, which had never been used. Nicoclemus 
helped him carry the body, and, after wrapping it in pure white 
linen and some sweet- 
smelling spices, which 
Nicodemus had brought 
with him, they lovingly 
laid it in the tomb, rolled 
a great stone against 
the door, and went 
away. 

The w^omen, who 
ha.d been watching all 
da}^, waited till they 
saw where their Master 
w^as laid, and then went 
to their homes to pre- 
pare spices and per- 
fumes. Nothing more 
could be done until after 
the Sabbath day. For 
the disciples were care- 
ful to do nothing on 
the Sabbath day that 

the Jews could find fault with ; and, too, they knew that God 
had commanded that no work should be done on that day, 




The Burial 



220 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

when it could be liel23ed ; but that it should be kept holy to 
God. 

The Sanhedrin were not yet fully satisfied, and went to Pilate, 
to ask another favor. " Sir, we remember that this deceitful 
man said, while he was yet alive, ' After three days, I will rise 
again,' " said these Jews to the Governor. '' What we want to 
ask now is that soldiers shall guard the tomb where he is laid 
until after the third day, for fear that his disciples should come 
by night and steal the body away, and then say to the people, 
' He is risen from the dead.' That would be worse than anything 
that has happened yet." 

Pilate, who was willing that the tomb should be guarded, said, 
" You can have watchmen ; go and make things as safe as you 
can." Off they went to the tomb, to see that everything was 
done right ; they left soldiers to guard it, and sealed the stone 
which was before the door in such a way that it could not be 
moved without breaking the seal. Any one who did that would 
be severely punished by the law. 

THE RESURRECTION AND ASCENSION OF 
THE CHRIST 

THE RESURRECTION 

Very early on the morning of the third day, our Sunday, the 
women started to the tomb with their spices for the body of their 
Lord. They did not know that soldiers were keeping watch 
there, nor that the tomb was sealed. As they walked along they 
wondered how they could roll away the heavy stone. 

Great was their surprise when they reached the tomb, to 
find that the stone had already been rolled away, and that the 
tomb was empty. One of the women, named Mary Magdalene, 
ran back to tell Peter and John about it. " They have taken 



THE RESURRECTION AXD ASCENSION OF THE CHRIST 221 



away our Lord," said she, " and we do not know where they 
have laid him." 

The other two women had gone into the tomb, and as they 
stood there, wondering what this meant, two men stood by them 
in shining garments, who said : " Why do you look for the living 
in the home of the dead ? Your Lord is not here, but is risen. 
Do you not remember what he said to you in Galilee, that the Son 
of man should be given 
up to wicked people 
and be crucified, and 
the third day should 
rise again ? Go and 
tell the disciples that 
their Master will meet 
them in Galilee." 

They did remember 
these words of Jesus, 
and now they under- 
stood what their Sav- 
iour had meant by 
them. They went away 
quickly to find the 
twelve disciples, in 
order to tell them the 
message which had been 
given to them. ^j^g j.^^^^ jyj^j.yg ^^ ^^^ ^^^^ 

As soon as Peter 
and John heard the story of Mary Magdalene, they ran to the 
tomb. John could ran the fastest, and he reached it first. He 
did not go into the tomb, but as he stooped down and looked in, 
he saw the clothes that had been wrapped about their Master. 
When Peter came he went in, and John soon followed him. 





■mm , 


J^i 




\ ^^^^^^^m^K^Si 


^ 

■ , 


«1 


M«r 



222 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 




«^ 



Ik 



f 



Then they saw for themselves that what Mary had told them 
was true ; the clothes were there, but the body of their Lord was 
not to be seen. 

They returned home, but Mary Magdalene, who had followed 
them back, did not leave the place. As she stooped down to look 
into the tomb, she saw two angels sitting, one at the head, and 

the other at the feet, 
where the body of Jesus 
had lain. 

They asked," Woman, 
why do you weep ? " She 
answered, " Because 
they have taken away 
my Lord, and I do not 
know where they have 
laid him." She turned 
around, and saw some 
one else standing behind 
her, who also asked : 
" Woman, ^vhy do y.)u 
weep ? For whom are 
you looking ? " 

Her eyes were filled 
with tears, and suppos- 
ing that she was talking 
to the gardener, she said, 
" Sir, if you have carried 
him away from here, tell me where you have laid him, and I will 
take him away." The voice spoke again, " Mary." 

Only one person in the wide world had ever spoken her name 
as sweetly as that. 

Looking up she saw Jesus. 



P W 



Mary at the Tcmb 



THE RESURRECTIOX AND ASCENSION OE THE CHRIST 



223 



" Master," she cried, and went toward liim. '' Do not touch me," 
said he, ^' I have not yet gone to heaven to hve ; but I shall go to 
be with my Father and 

your Father, with my ; 1 

God and your God. Go ' 

to my apostles, and tell I 
them what I have said ." 

The other women 
were still on the way """' 

to tell the apostles the ., ; 

angel's message when 
Jesus met them, and 
said, "All hail." 
Trembling, they fell 
down at his feet and 
worshipped him. See- 
ing that they were 
afraid, he said to them : 
'^ Tell my brethren to 
go into Galilee, and 
there they shall see me. 
Do not be afraid." 

What about the sol- 
diers who were ordered to keep guard over the tomb ? As they 
were watching, they heard a noise, and saw a strange sight. An 
angel, whose face was like lightning, and whose garments Avere as 
white as snow, rolled away the stone and sat upon it. The guard 
were afraid, and ran to tell the Sanhedrin what had happened. 

The Sanhedrin called another meeting in great haste, to decide 
what they should do about it, and this is what they decided. 
They gave the soldiers some money, and asked them to tell this lie : 
that, when they were asleep, the disciples came and stole the body. 




Jesus appearing to Mary 



224 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 



.^^ 



The soldiers were not willing to say this, for if the Governor 
heard that they had slept while on duty they might lose their 
own lives. But the Jews said, '' You need not be afraid ; we 
will make it all right with the Governor." So the soldiers took 
the money, and did as they were taught ; and even now many of 
the Jews believe that they told the truth. 

Mary Magdalene went to the disciples, who w^ere very lonely 
and sad, and tokl them that their Lord was alive, and that she 

had seen him. They 
could not believe her, 
nor did they believe the 
other women who came 
to them with the same 
story. 

That same day, as 
two of the disciples were 
walking toward the vil- 
lage of Emmaus, which 
was about eight miles 
from Jerusalem, talking 
of all tliose 
liad happened 
joined them, and asked 
them what they were 
saying that made them 
look so sad. They told 
liim how their Master, 
who they thought was 
to be the king of Israel, had been crucified by the rulers of the 
Jews. They spoke of the wonderful news that the women had 




thiuQ^s that 
a stranger 



The Walk to Emmaus 



brought to them, that he w^as 



alive. But they showed 



that they did not yet understand what had happened. 



THE RESURRECTION AND ASCENSION OF THE CHRIST 225 



'' How hard it is for you to imclerstand all that the prophets 
said about your king," said the stranger. Then he showed them 
that what the prophets had said about the king had all come true 
in the life of Jesus. He talked to them all the way to Emmaus, 
and they were so delighted to hear him that they asked him not 
to y^o farther that nio-ht, but to stay with them. 

The stranger accepted their invitation, and went into the 
house. As he sat at 
supper with them, 
he took bread and 
blessed it and then 
broke it. As he 
did so they looked 
more carefully at 
him than they had 
before, and they 
knew that he was 
not a stranger. 
They saw that the 
face was that of 
one they knew ; that 
it was Jesus, their 
Lord. 

But as soon as they found this out his place at the table was 
empty ; he had suddenly left them. 

The two men hurried back to Jerusalem to tell the apostles 
about it. Their hearts were filled with joy as they told their 
friends that the Master had walked with them, and had taught 
them how the sayings of the prophets had come true in his life 
and death, but that they had not known him until he sat at the 
table with them, and broke the bread. The apostles said : " We 
know that he is living, for Peter has seen him." 




The Supper at Emmaus 



226 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 



Just then some one came into the room. They all looked up 
at once, for they heard a voice say, ''Peace be unto you;" and 
as they looked they were afraid. What did they see ? Could it 
be their Master, or was it a spirit ? 

A spirit could not talk, but they heard a voice saying : '' Why 

are you afraid ? AYhy do 
■■■■■■T'^^ ..—^ ^^^^^^^ ^^^^^ wonder who is with 

wK^^^^ sIB^SB^R' yo^^^ Look at my hands 

^^ j. ^ HHhP j and my feet ; do you not 

know whose they are ? 
Take hold of them and 
make sure ; a spirit has 
not flesh and bones as 
you see me have." 

They were so happy 
that they could not be- 
lieve that their Master 
was really with them 
until he said, " Have 
you anythmg to eat ? " 
TJiey gave him a piece 
of broiled fish and some 
honeycomb ; and as he 
ate it he talked with 
them as he had before 
his death. '' Do you not 
remember," said he, "that when I was with you I told you that 
all this must happen ? The law of Moses, the prophets, and the 
Psalms, all say that the Christ must suffer, as I have suffered. 
As my Father sent me to teach you, so I now send you to teach 
the world." 

Now Thomas was not with the apostles when the Master 




Jesus appears to the Ten Apostles 



THE RESURRECTION AND ASCENSION OF THE CHRIST 22T 

came. When he joined them again, and they said to him, '*' We 
have seen the Lord," he did not beheve them. He said : '' I will 
not believe that he is living until I myself can see in his hands 
the print of the nails, and put my finger into those prints, and 
my hand on the cut which the spear made in his side." 

It was a week later and the disciples were all together, plan- 
ning what they should do. The doors of the room in which they 
were sitting were shut. They were always shut in those days, 
for they did not dare to leave them open, for fear that the Jews 
who had stopped their Master's work, would try now to hinder 
them. 

As they talked quietly, they heard the words, " Peace be 
with you," and though the door had not been opened, Jesus stood 
among them. He went over to Thomas and said, " Eeach out 
your finger and touch my hands ; reach out your hand, and put 
it into my side." Without doing either, Thomas believed and 
said, "My Lord, and my God." Then said Jesus: "Thomas, 
because you have seen me, you have believed ; happy are those 
people who have not seen me, and yet have believed ! " 

The disciples now went to Galilee for a few days, as their 
Lord had told them. One evening, wdien seven of them Avere 
together, Peter said, "I am going fishing." "We will go with 
you," said the others, and they went into a boat. But though 
they were out all night, they caught no fish. 

In the morning Jesus came to tlie shore ; but they did not 
know that it was he. He called to them, " Children, have you 
caught any fish ? " and they answered, " No." Again he called, 
" Throw your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you will 
find some." This they did, and the net was full. 

John remembered another time when such a thing as this had 
happened, and said to Peter, " It is the Lord." Peter thought so 
too, and, throwing on his coat, he jumped out of the boat and 



^28 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 



waded as fast as he could to the shore. The other disciples 
followed him in the boat, dragging their net full of fishes. 

As soon as they had come to the land, they saw a wood fire 
on the beach, and some fish broiling on the coals, and some bread 
near by. When Jesus said, " Bring the fish which you have 

caught," Simon Peter 
ran to help the others 
drag the net to land. 
^jp^ It was heavy, for there 

tJilLf ^^^*% ^fssi*^^ were one hundred and 

•;. Mmri ^dm C%a ^^^^ 1.^^,^^ fishes in it. 

When they were landed, 
Jesus said, "Come 
now and eat breakfast." 
He broke the bread and 
passed it to them, then 
gave them some of the 
fish. 

After they had fin- 
ished eating, Jesus 
turned to Peter, and 
said, " Shnon, son of 
Jonas, do you love me 
more than the others 
do?" When Peter 
answered, " Yes, Lord, 
you know that I love you," he said, "Feed my lambs." A 
:second time he asked, " Simon, son of Jonas, do you love me 
more than the others ? " Peter gave him the same answer, 
" Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said, " Feed my 
iiheep." 

Once more Jesus asked, " Simon, son of Jonas, do you love 




Jesus and Peter 



THE RESURRECTION AND ASCENSION OF THE CHRIST 



229 



me ? " Peter was grieved that liis Master should ask the question 
for the third time ; and he said, '' Lord, you know all things ] you 
know that I love you." Once more Jesus said, " Feed my sheep." 

The work of the Great Shepherd was done ; the sheep must 
have other leaders now, and that is what the Master wanted 
Peter to do for the rest of his life. He talked with him more 
about his work; he told him that it would be hard, and that 
at last he, too, w^ould suffer a cruel death. 

Peter looked round, 
and, seeing John just be- .^ | 

hind them, said, '' Lord, 
and what shall this man 
do?" Jesus did not 
tell him, but said : 
" What is that to you ? 
Follow me." And that 
is wdiat our Master says 
to us now. He does not 
want us to look to see 
if some one else has 
work to do, and is doing 
it. He wants us to be 
sure that we ourselves 
are doing the work that 
has been given to us to 
do ; and that we are 
doing it as nearly right 
as we can. 

Jesus was seen by his apostles again, when, with about five 
hundred other disciples, they were upon a mountain in G-alilee, 
where their Master had appointed a meeting. It was at this 
meeting that the great commission was given to the disciples, 




The Great Commission 



230 A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

" Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every 
creature." 

Jesus may have given this command more than once, and it 
is certain that the same, in different words, had been given to his 
followers over and over again. But this time he said it to all 
his friends, and added other words that have been precious to all 
his friends ever since that time, " Lo, I am with you alway, even 
unto the end of the world." 



THE ASCENDED CHRIST 

Forty days had now passed since the Christ had risen from 
the dead, and his disciples were in Jerusalem. He had told them 
not to go away from that city for a few days, for there the Father 
would send them the Holy Spirit. The disciples were not yet 
near enough like their Master to do his work, and could do nothing 
without the help of this Spirit. Jesus said, " After the Father 
has given you the Holy Spirit, you shall have power to work and 
spread my Gospel to every part of the earth." 

They were in Jerusalem, waiting till this Spirit should be given 
to them, when, one day, the Saviour came to them, and led them 
out as far as Bethany. He lifted up his hands in blessing, and 
while he blessed them he was taken from them and carried up 
into heaven. A cloud carne between him and them. While they 
still were looking toward heaven, two men stood by them in white 
clothing, who said : ^' Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking 
up into heaven ? This same Jesus, who is taken from you into 
heaven, shall come again in the same way that you have seen 
him go into heaven." 

The apostles went back to Jerusalem, and there, with the 
women and the other friends of Jesus, they waited and prayed 
that the Father would show them what to do. God soon sent 



THE RESURRECTION AND ASCENSION OF THE CHRIST 231 



the Holy Spirit, and then they went out to teach, though they 
knew that they must suffer, as did their Lord. 

The earthly life of the Christ w^as ended, but he was not dead. 
He was living with the Father, and always watching over his dis- 
ciples, and giving them help and strength as they needed it. 
Christ was seen by men 
several times after he 
ascended into heaven, 
and we will speak about 
two of these times. 

One of the most 
active workers against 
the new religion, w^as a 
young Pharisee, named 
Saul. He w^as so eager -^ 

to w^ork that he asked 
permission to go to other 
cities than Jerusalem 
and find and punish any 
of the followers of Jesus. 
One day, when he was 
travelling to Damascus, 
on this errand, he saw a 
wonderful sight. A 
light that was brighter 
than the sun at noontime 

shone around him, and he saw a glorious form, and heard a voice, 
wdiich said, ''Saul, wdiy are you persecuting me?" ''Who are 
you?" asked Saul. "I am Jesus whom you are trying to 
destroy," said the heavenly visitor. 

Saul had not wanted to stop the w^ork of the disciples of Jesus 
because he was a bad man, but because lie thouglit it was right. 




The Ascension 



232 



A CHILD'S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 



and this vision of the Master was the means of changing him from 
a persecutor of the followers of Jesus, to one of the most active 
and successful of his disciples. For many years Saul, or Paul, as 
he is usually called, travelled from country to country, telling of 
the Christ, and proving that he was really the king that the Jews 

had so long expected. 

He always told this 
story of the time that 
Jesus came to him on 
the road to Damascus^ 
wdien he w^ished to show^ 
why he had become one 
of his followers, after 
he had for so long been 
so active against them. 
For many years he 
w^orked for him, and 
then at last he gave his 
life for the Master he 
had served so well. 

One more record 
there is in the New 
Testament, of an appear- 
ance of the Christ to 
a disciple. John the 
youngest of the twelve, 
who is always called "the beloved disciple," because he was so 
much loved by his Master, was sent in his old age to a lonely 
island far away from any of his friends. 

While there he had a w^onderful vision. First, Jesus, his 
Lord, came to him, but not in his earthly form. So wonderfully 
bright and glorious was the Saviour, that John " fell at his feet 




The Vision of John 



THE RESURRECTION AND ASCENSION OF THE CHRIST 233^ 

as one dead." But his Master came to him kindly, and spoke to 
him words, and showed him sights that are too great for us yet 
to fully understand. John wrote what he heard and saw, and 
we can read it in the last book of the Bible, " The Revelation." 

The Jew^s as a nation never believed in Jesus, and because 
they did not believe in him and what he taught, they were ter- 
ribly punished. Other nations were willing to believe in him, and 
now he is ruling over almost the whole world, and will reign for- 
ever ; for the Bible says that at the name of Jesus every knee- 
must bow, and every tongue must say that the Christ is Lord. 

Are you not glad to have such a king ? 



MAY. 5 - l^Oa 



'K 3 1902 



1 COPY DEL. ro CAT. D)V, 
WAV 5 1902 
MAY 9 1902 



19 y 



il!!i!l 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

029 822 711 3 




